Daughter of the Morning
by Hardman 5509
Summary: In order to get Risky Boots to stop attacking Sequin Land, Shantae makes a deal. Now she must live up to the deal. Rated T for mature situations and characters cursing.
1. Make The Deal

She had made the deal with the devil. When the offer was originally made, she knew that dire consequences would come in due time, but she only considered the benefits.

Shantae looked out towards the open sea lit by the descending sun, watching the rickety ship leave the Sequin Land for good, or for at least a few years. Risky Boots swore she would depart for new lands and seek out treasures elsewhere. Mimic, Sky, and Bolo watched the ship as well, but every few seconds they would look back to Shantae, worried about her future. Shantae only watched the ship, but could feel the eyes of her friends.

Ten days ago, Risky came to Shantae in secret. Shantae had heard a report about a squad of Tinkerbats stalking the harbors at night and Risky waited for the half-genie to approach the harbor. When Shantae arrived to search for any pirates, Risky approached her with no weapons drawn and her hands up in the hair. Shantae did the smart thing by patting down Risky for any hidden knives or for a pistol tucked away behind her back in her pants. Risky carried nothing and said she wanted to discuss a important matter.

Risky said she was leaving Scuttle Town and Sequin Land…for good she claimed. But she wanted something in return. Said that the item she wanted would be worth more than all of the gold and gems in Sequin Land. And apparently only Shantae could provide this item. The half-genie girl immediately knew there was going to be a catch, but getting Risky out of everyone's hair would definitely be worth it. So with a long and tired sigh, Shantae asked what Risky wanted.

The answer stunned her.

Risky laughed after seeing Shantae's horrified expression. She admitted that Shantae would find the proposition to be far-fetched, illogical, INSANE, and stupid. But Risky once more affirmed that if Shantae performed this one action, Risky would leave and (might) never come back. Shantae pressed a bit further, and Risky did admit she would keep a eye on Shantae and her friends, just in case. She considered her wish to be a powerful investment and she wanted to earn big.

"You do the work and you get paid for it." Risky sighed as she sat down on a flat-topped pier log. "This one thing, and I'll vanish and never return. Again!" She crossed her legs, while directing a sharp smile towards Shantae. Shantae crossed her arms and glared at the pirate. "Hey, I'm honest about this. Do this one thing for me, and I will be in your debt for the rest of your life."

"Which means you're going to try and kill me." Shantae remarked.

"No, I still need you." Risky leaned back and looked at the stars above. As she considered her next words, she counted the stars and tried to spot out any constellations. Sort of a side-hobby. "Come on. Admit it. We have a thing, you and I…"

"You try to rob and pillage my town, and I stop you." Shantae stamped her foot down. "The only thing WE have is a rivalry!"

"Which is why I'm calling our rivalry off for a worthy cause!" Risky jumped up and walked towards a adamant Shantae. "Look, I need this. I actually do…need this. And you're the only one who can do this, let alone be the only person I trust…" Risky tapped a finger into Shantae's chest. "…and…" Risky put on a lighter smile as she looked straight into Shantae's eyes. Shantae froze her eyebrows into slants. "…admire enough."

Shantae considered all the options set before her. One hand: Risky would at least follow her word for a short time, enough to reinforce Scuttle Town to properly defend itself against Risky or any other threat. On the other: Risky would lie and attack immediately. Risky did owe Shantae for saving her from the Pirate Master, so Shantae could play the card…if she wanted to take the deal. What's stopping Shantae from pulling a fast one and arresting Risky here and now? What's stopping Risky from doing the same?

"My Tinkerbats are all stocked up in my ship, ready to go." Risky pointed behind her back out to sea. "Once we do this, I'll leave. Immediately. Do we have a deal?"

Shantae took a second before answering. "If you break the promise, I will hunt you down."

"Great! Oh…I do expect it to be a girl."


	2. Uncertain Odds

Shantae tried to grip the mug. Her hands just quivered like mad. She really wanted to sip on her cranberry juice, but her fingers didn't want to work. Feeling it would be safer, she used both hands to raise the mug up to her lips. Now the liquid inside the mug started to dance like there was a earthquake. But she did manage to get the mug up to her mouth and get in a little bit of the juice into her mouth and down the throat.

A week passed. Risky Boots had so far kept to her word and hadn't attacked anywhere in Sequin Land, at least as far as the newspapers have reported. But Sky and the town's defenders were still on twenty-four shifts and were waiting for anything to happen at any time. Sky spent her time either on the battlements or at the lighthouse keeping an eye out for Shantae. Rottytops, her brothers, Mimic and Bolo also spent a great deal of time with Shantae. She appreciated the concern, but she did want some sense of privacy in her own home.

"What's stopping you from getting of it?" Sky asked with a serious expression. Shantae pointed up to a corner in the ceiling. Sky looked over and noticed something resembling a small skull. "Let me guess." Sky sighed. "That's a camera that's keeping a eye on you and the baby." Shantae merely nodded. "And if we destroy it, Risky will come back?" Shantae again nodded her head. "I would like to say just move, but even I know that Risky isn't stupid. She would figure it out pretty fast."

"I considered all my options." Shantae sighed. "If did I get a abortion and try to cover it up, the façade wouldn't last very long and Risky would come back. Threatened to harm the baby and try to get her to back off, Risky would just come back and abduct me. Give the baby over to someone else, Risky would kill the adopters and give the baby back." She then groaned and buried her head into her hands.

"And all this for a baby." Sky wondered. "Why?"

"Legacy." Shantae replied as she raised her head back up. "She needs a child to continue her work…as a pirate. And she wants a quarter-genie child at that." Shantae huffed.

"Ah!" Sky whistled. "Lie number one. She said she was never going to return to Sequin Land. If she's going to make this child be a pirate, she's got to come back to pick her daughter up. Unless…" Sky sighed as she thought of a possible loophole. "…when she meant by 'never return to Sequin Land' she actually meant 'not to attack Sequin Land.'"

"Yes." Shantae got up to do something, to ease her nerves. "When we were…disrobing…she did mention that the proper age for a pirate to get started is eight. Which means we will be seeing her again sometime in the next decade." Shantae patted her stomach. "Poor Nina…"

"Nina." Sky groaned out loud. "You named it. You actually named your little demon baby. And how do you know it's a girl?"

"Risky wanted a daughter…so I used a little genie magic to make it so." Shantae looked down. Way too early for any significant growth, but she could feel the child within her. So many mixed feelings came over Shantae as she thought about Nina. Some happy, some sad, and some angry. A part of her wanted to keep the child; her maternal instincts had started to kick in and Shantae did have some feelings for Risky…thatandshewasgoodinbedbutitsnotimportant. Sad because Shantae felt robbed in more than one way: of time, youth, innocence, time…and the fact Risky might easily take advantage of a pregnant defender. Angry because for the same reason for being sad.

"Unbelievable." Sky breathed out as she got up and went towards the door. "I'm going back to duty. Rottytops will be over a bit later, she and her zombie friends are building a wall for the possible war. It's going to stink like hell, but it's better than nothing." She accidently slammed the door on her way out, squeaking out a quick 'sorry' before running back to her post.

Shantae became alone with her thoughts. If Risky did intend to come back in eight years to pick up the child…should Shantae even bother raising the child? After those eight years, Shantae might never see Nina again. Would there be a point to raising her like an actual child? A sick joke popped into her head: didn't most criminals have some sort of physiological problem, usually involving their parents. She brushed that nasty thought away.

…if she did raise Nina like her own child…that might cause problems with Risky.

There just wasn't a good way out of this predicament.

Shantae looked at her stomach for the umpteenth time today. Not any bigger, but still there. Shantae closed her eyes and thought about the future. She thought about pushing a young Nina on a swing back and forth…but also Nina and Risky laughing at her as she was throw into a jail cell.

She bit her lip. All Shantae wanted was to make things easier for everyone.


	3. Sickness

It had been a month. No sightings of Risky, her Tinkerbats, a ship, or even a hint to her presence. Security around Scuttle Town became a bit lax as the people generally felt safer now. Sky and a few others staid on watch, not exactly feeling they could trust the word of a pirate who attacked their land twice. But for the rest, life went on as normal. Risky Boots had been mostly forgotten by the general populace.

Shantae took things easy. Morning sickness had started to set in big time, and with that came the constant trips to the bathroom to relive herself. Doing menial chores felt like she just finished two long adventures back-to-back without as much as a short break. Mimic got a lot of vanilla ice cream; not to perpetuate the common notion that all women like ice cream, but to keep Shantae something easy to eat, and to make sure her throat would burn after a bout in the bathroom in the morning. Honestly, she didn't want to be useless and hang around the lighthouse all day doing nothing…but the baby Nina was telling her: "No, you get to sit down and watch reruns of Nurse Betty."

Not to say Nurse Betty was a bad show; a compelling drama about the life of a war-torn nurse trying to adapt to normal life after a long ten-years war. But Shantae didn't want to spend all day going through the different arcs of the show, she wanted to do something useful despite her current situation.

Today, Rottytops had come over to visit. She carried with her a bouquet of nice flowers (As opposed to the usual array of dead and wilted flora) and a box of chocolates (Which weren't stolen). The former were for Shantae but the chocolates…

"For Sky." Rottytops admitted before kissing the box.

"You're interested in her?" Shantae asked with amazement.

"Seeing your belly get bigger with a baby…" Rottytops stopped mid-sentence. "Big belly baby. Heh." She continued after a short chuckle at her alteration joke. "…well, I'm interested in getting my own hot babe to have a baby with." Before Shantae could ask the first and obvious questions, Rottytops filled it in with, "There's a way. Trust me. Sky is going to carry a living baby…with slight zombie characteristics. At the most, a necromancer at birth."

"You do realize I'm not doing this for fun?" Shantae reminded with a distinctive glare to her undead friend and a finger pointing to her belly, which started to push out from her usual outfit.

"Can't help but feel a…unusual feeling." Rottytops admitted, sitting down and breaking open the box to taste one chocolate. "A weird thing…in my gut. If I still have one. Guess I can borrow one for a bit." She shrugged and went back to the last subject. "Ya know, it's the kind where you feel the need to do something different. Maybe my horses are looking for a place to settle down." She sighed as she popped another chocolate into her mouth. If she didn't have a gut, does that mean the chewed-up chocolate just settle in her lower regions until it falls out? "And I believe Sky's parents wouldn't mind all too much…they do want their daughter to marry and have a child of her own…I don't think they care too much about the source. Besides, I'm a big hero and everything…"

"Rottytops." Shantae sickeningly choked. Rottytops wisely decided to keep quiet. "More power to you." Shantae got out before hopping up and hitting the bathroom for another episode of dry-heaving on the toilet bowl. She could hear Rottytops taking her leave. Well, her breath did smell like barf, and Rottytops could still smell things. Man, she would kill those flowers if she breathed out. Risky must be keeping track until the baby's birth and laughing her ass off knowing Shantae's current conditions.

Shantae's trip didn't last too long thankfully. And Bolo did mention getting some medicine, so maybe she would get over this soon. She once more looked down to her stomach and took great notice of the slight curve. She took a series of deep breaths as a wave of storming emotions washed over her. This was happening. She would give birth to a living being in seven to eight months.

Hell, if she was going through these pains, she deserved to keep the baby.


	4. Itching To Get Out

Bolo did NOT help. At all. Mimic at least had some experience from all his travels, Sky could keep Shantae calm, and Rottytops knew how to relax and treat Shantae right.

But Bolo was a mess.

Take today for instance. He offered to bring over some hot chocolate from the café in town. That would hit the spot! But he must have gotten distracted by something, for it took him two hours after he left the lighthouse to return…empty-handed. He spent a few seconds of thinking to realize he forgotten to go get the hot-chocolate…no, wait! He bought it but went off to ask a dancing girl her star sign…and then he forgot to pick it up. On his way out, he nearly knocked over a table and vase, but thankfully a sick pregnant woman was capable of saving those poor antiques from shattering on the floor and cutting up the idiot's foot. And when he came back with the luke-warm chocolate…

"At least I can clean it." Shantae grunted as he rolled up the stained carpet to take it down to the cleaners. "Got any other plans to 'help' me today, Bolo?" Bolo shook his head. Shantae slammed the roll against the wall. She took the last surviving cup and downed in one gulp. Good stuff, despite it lacking the former part of the drink's name.

"Should I get more?" Bolo wisely asked.

"Sure, why not?" Shantae sighed, gently putting the cup down on a different table. "If you do, please go straight there, buy the batch, and don't leave without the batch in hand."

"Okay." Bolo nodded and turned to head out, only to turn back around and ask, "So, you planning on keeping the kid?" Shantae gave a simple and quiet glare. "L-look, if you do, I'm offering. I'm offering to help you to raise the little child together…"

"I'm fine." Shantae snorted. "I got my friends and my uncle to help me. Thank you, but I'm not looking forward to sharing a long turn commitment with anyone." She went off to her bedroom to lay down for a bit, as she could feel a nasty headache coming on. Bolo did mean well, but with the pregnancy and the oncoming stormy seasons didn't help pacify Shantae's growing irritation with her male friend. At least he was getting her free stuff.

As she threw her down onto the bed (back-first, she quickly got used to doing that) she realized she hadn't been outside of the house in over a month. Then again…she did that on purpose. Shantae hadn't felt the need to leave the house. Not because she didn't need to now with her friends getting everything she needed from the outside world, not because she feared for Nina's unborn life…it had to do with the encounter with Risky Boots. Shantae consented to having the child, Risky held this promise longer than any other promise she made…so why did Shantae feel so scared of the outside world? Shantae stared at the ceiling with a unmoving gaze. Maybe this whole thing is actually her just overreacting. A lot has changed, yeah, but this was something good! Shantae didn't have to deal with Risky attacking her home, Risky gets to have a child of her own…everyone wins.

Maybe not. Shantae peered down to her stomach. It had gotten noticeably bigger. Not huge, but definitely a little baby bump had started to form. Shantae wondered if her nature as a half-genie would affect the baby's growth. Would it take longer or it would be shorter than the usual time?

She figured she had about at least a month and a half to do she wanted before she would start taking it easy. Might as well see the town and do a little easy monster clean-up.


	5. Dance It Out

On the way into town, Shantae considered what she would say to her friends if they asked why she was moving out and about as opposed to taking it easy. By the time she stepped through the gates she had her answer. A simple reminder that being pregnant doesn't mean being lazy or being unable to do anything. Sure, she shouldn't be fighting (Anything serious anyway), but she shouldn't be doing nothing!

The people quickly took notice of their half-genie guardian. It had been a long time since they had last seen her and they hadn't been informed of what happened to her. Some of the older women recognized the growing pregnancy but kept silent. Shantae really wasn't in the mood to talk with the people of Scuttle Town, so she kept her head a bit low and moved through the crowds. She didn't see anyone she really recognized so she continued to the belly-dancing hall.

The place hadn't changed not even one bit since she last visited. Looks like they fixed up the broken window after Ann hip-thrusted a bit too hard while wearing a heavy bead belt. The dull tapestry had been cleaned a bit and that returned some of the color. By taking a look inside, Shantae could still see that Rachel still had a few problems making her hips do the things she wanted to. The same owner stood against a wall watching her employees and students work themselves silly. Shantae nervously edged inside and raised a hand up to greet herself.

"Why hello there!" The owner replied with a snorting chuckle. "Been a while, Shantae! I didn't know that the lighthouse was such a interesting place. Maybe we should hold a dance recital there someday…"

"Don't you want to know why I haven't been out?" Shantae asked as she went all the way inside.

"As long as you weren't in jail, I don't care." The parlor lady shrugged and went over to the main stage with a broom in hand. "The town has missed your dancing…"

"I've gotten pregnant." Shantae just blurted out. Suddenly everyone in the building froze in place as the news registered in their minds. "This is a secret still to many people, so this doesn't leave the dance hall okay? I don't want a huge pity party…"

"Why would we do that?" The lady shrugged. "It's the gift of life you carry within you! It's amazing!"

"It's Risky's." Shantae again blurted out. She wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush. Again, everyone went silent as they let the information settle in. "Don't panic, I haven't betrayed anyone. I did this on a promise that Risky Boots wouldn't attack Sequin Land anymore. That's why the defense force has been so busy. They're ready incase Risky decided to break her word." She raised a hand as one of the students came close. "I'm fine. It's only the first month."

"Pretty stupid if you ask me." One of the students remarked under her breath, but loud enough to be heard by others. The owner held up a finger to her lips to silence the student.

"I did it because I believe that Risky will hold to her promise. She came to me with the idea and if she wants the child so badly she has to hold to her promise." Shantae exhaled. "Please don't go around and tell everyone. We will make the announcement when it's time."

"Don't worry." The owner smiled and placed a kind arm on Shantae's shoulder. "If any of these ladies spill the beans, I will have them banned from this place." The smile suddenly became twisted as the owner turned to her student and employees. They got the message. "You're welcome here at any time. This is also a good time to practice your belly dancing. It's really good for your body now…"

"Really?" Shantae asked sincerely.

"Yeah!" The owner patted her belly. "Had a few children of my own. Belly-dancing really keeps you healthy and active during pregnancy. Just avoid doing of the fast and sharp movements and you're fine. I got a book on this somewhere in the back…practice with some of the girls while I go looking for it." The owner turned and went towards the door leading to her office. "Nice and easy now, Shantae."

Shantae looked up at the stage. It had been a long time since she last danced here. Not since her during her first major adventure. She didn't feel nervous about dancing, she really wanted to do this after such a boring month of doing nothing. And yet she didn't want to go on stage…maybe because she felt embarrassed? That's silly…she loved to dance! And yet as she ascended up to the stage, she did feel some weird sensation that whispered to her to stop. But she kept going and placed both feet on the center of the stage. The lights dimmed and a slow beat started to play. She gently rocked her hips and back, as not to strain her pregnant body. The other people in the parlor stopped to watch their guardian do her majestic dance.

She avoided doing any of the dances that would trigger a transformation. Didn't want to chance harming the fetus by becoming a different creature. As she slowly danced in place with the gentle version of her dances, people cheered her on and threw gems onto the stage. Not that she needed the money, her friends were willing to support her. But a little extra mad money would be good too.

A few bounces back and forth as well as few up and down, swaying her hips back and forth, hands pressed together…she felt good being able to dance again. But Shantae couldn't shake that weird feeling. Still, she kept dancing for several hours because she felt like it and tried to ignore that odd sensation. And she left the parlor with a smile, a few books on pregnancy and belly dancing, and enough gems to get herself a nice new pillow.


	6. Observe And Report

Risky sneezed. It made her harken back to a old legend she overheard years ago about the cause of sneezing. It's said whenever someone mentions your name from far away, you sneeze. In that case, someone must be mentioning her name A LOT.

The pirate lady made it clear to her Tinkerbats that would leave Sequin Land alone for good…unless they could get a really decent excuse. Risky Boots was never going to go back on her promise. Shantae would birth and raise her kid for the first eight years. Risky would return to Sequin Land for possibly the last time to pick up the child and raise her protégé to take over the pirate army. It will be nothing like the Pirate Master did with her…save for the possibly painful trials. Those were good fun, and it provided a great experience!

In the short time she had been away from her usual place of plunder, she actually made a good profit. The reason why her Tinkerbats had been on those docks was to secretly steal surplus cargo. It didn't matter what were in those crates…just as long as they smelled like rare spice. Fooled the customs, and with a little sample to present to the buyers so they wouldn't check the actual contents, Risky got away with a huge bullion. And a new bounty for the region! Sure, the money offered would only buy a barrel of three star wine, but she was only getting started!

Risky walked down the length of her ship. Nice and clean, as she expected. Without Shantae or her friends tearing it up, The tub could use a new paint job though. After they got rid of the remaining surplus cargo. Risky did have to shake her head at what the crates actually contained. It made her wonder why the economy of Scuttle Town hadn't been destroyed by all this junk!

Can't stop thinking about that place. Risky did enjoy tormenting that place. But now the only way she could it now is through the cameras she hid all over town. Risky only told Shantae about one of the cameras; the one she placed in her house. Her Tinkerbats actually managed to sneak around town and placed other small cameras at advantage points to keep a very watchful on Shantae's movements. Risky did feel like a stalker, (Not that actually bothered her) but she needed to make sure that Shantae kept true to her word.

If she didn't, that would give Risky the excuse to return and pillage.

Feeling a bit antsy, Risky scurried down below deck to check her surveillance. Taking a bottle of imported beer with her, she sat down and went through the cameras to find her target. After finding her purple-haired 'wife', Risky popped open her beer and watched Shantae go through the town. Didn't stop to talk with anyone or shop. Made a straight beeline for the dance parlor.

Ah, the half-genie's famous dancing. Sure, the dancing usually lead to Risky's downfall, but it was so exciting to watch. Exciting in a 'special' way! After a few minutes of boring talking, Shantae slowly ascended up to the stage and started to dance. Risky put down her drink as she followed Shantae's every movement. She made complex moves look so easy, despite her slow pace. The sweat beading all over her body actually made her look even sexier than before. Risky licked her lips.

She made a great choice. Shantae had everything Risky ever wanted. Even more than her mother. Risky became a bit too invested in Shantae's dancing to notice a few things. For starters, her ship had just entered into some rougher waters and started to rock a bit. Her beer became the first victim as it fell off the table and crashed onto the deck below; making a puddle of thick liquid and glass shards. Risky heard it but didn't react as her eyes bounced back and forth to follow Shantae's hips. As loose standing barrels started to roll all over the place, it took only one to get her attention. And that only happened because the barrel bumped into the table.

Risky shouted out her orders for the Tinkerbats to come down and get everything back in order. And then she went back to her little video to continue watching Shantae.

…maybe that'll be her excuse for going back…


	7. Feeling Hot

Sky yawned. Really couldn't help it, she had spent all of last night watching from the post just right outside the gates of town. Pumpkin Fields were fairly quiet this time of year. Not many scarecrows running about and the nagas had migrated to the west. But still, the Ammo Baron might come back and he might even bring Risky Boots along. Or a far more dangerous threat could appear and threaten the town now that their guardian had something else going on. (Even if the information hadn't left the town and the town itself really hadn't learned about it themselves.) Sky straighten her back and looked out to the fields below.

Something weird happened the other day that occupied a great deal of Sky's thoughts. Rottytops coming over with a box of chocolates…one that had been bought at a legit market and not a single chocolate was out of place. The two were really distant friends; Rottytops usually spent more time with Shantae. And now the zombie girl now expressed a rather deep and…possibly romantic attraction in her. That part really made Sky think about things she really didn't want to. Sky really just wanted to focus on protecting the town from outside threats, not pursue a involved relationship with one of the undead.

…even if the chocolate gift really tasted well.

Having become a bit inattentive due to her thoughts been elsewhere, Sky turned to face the clock in the tower. Close to four, so one of the more beefy guys would come to replace her for another four hours until the next man in line's shift. Tomorrow she had picked a even longer shift as the man supposed to work that day had gotten sick after he tried some pumpkin soup. Really his fault, Sky didn't know of any adult in town that would try any pumpkin-products that came from just right outside town. Those were of the explosive kind, Sky last checked.

Her monetary distraction from her post prevented from spotting Shantae going through the gates and heading out to do some monster-bashing. Not seeing many scarecrows nearby, Shantae decided to go a bit further than what she originally planned. I wouldn't go as far as the desert, she decided to herself. Taking a deep and calming breath, she jolted forward and hopped across the stone platforms that hung above the bottomless pits…why do those things still exist and how do they even exist?

Wrench had been sent out earlier to scout ahead. Having spotted a few scarecrows that looked like they were preparing a rather large, he was flying back to warn his master so they could assemble a few men to go after these monsters. Wrench picked up a unusual color just right below and glanced down to see something he hadn't expected to see out here. Shantae…the friend of his master. She should be at home relaxing! Sky had been rather anxious about Shantae the past month. Wrench darted ahead as fast as his wings could support him.

Shantae didn't see Wrench and continued. Reaching a high platform, she saw the coven of scarecrows that Wrench saw. Fidgety after a month of rest, Shantae jumped into the circle and whipped her hair three times. One of the scarecrows exploded into green mist and ratty clothing shreds. The other three jumped back and breathed out the toxic fumes that mixed into a huge and thick cloud. Shantae also jumped back and threw a large fireball at the fire. It ignited and a good-sized explosion knocked everybody back. Shantae flew and crashed into a old pillar. Normally she would just shake her head and get back up, but this time she felt way more winded and pained. At first she chalked it up to not being in prime shape, but she felt really tired now!

Month two. Fatigue had rolled in and doused her body In lethargy. It took a good few seconds before Shantae could get up on her feet. Only one scarecrow survived the explosion and it crackled manically as it prepped a rather large pumpkin bomb to finish off the destroyer of his kind. Shantae raised her hands up and threw out another fireball, hitting the last scarecrow in the chest and killing it. Sadly, she didn't have the energy to go and collect the gems dancing and fading away. Looking behind her, she wouldn't have the energy to return the way she came.

She didn't have to wait along as Sky and Wrench jumped down from the higher ground, Sky wearing a rather angrily annoyed expression on her face with her arms crossed and locked. Shantae recognized the look as the same one that Sky's mother gave her daughter when she forgot to get some groceries. Shantae let out a small giggle as Sky placed two hands on her shoulders.

"Nice job on eliminating those monsters before they got to the village." Honestly admitted Sky as she hopped back to the village.

"Thanks." Shantae mumbled as she held on as tight as she could to the straps on Sky's back. Sky at least thought ahead and brought some climbing gear so that Shantae could make it back without straining herself. Sure, Sky had to carry extra weight, but at least the way was clear and all she had to focus on was to get Shantae back to town. Normally a trip like this would take less two minutes, but with Shantae dragging her down it would take almost twenty.

"Still wish we could find out what they were planning."

"I'm pretty sure we stopped whatever they're doing."

"Good. Real good. Maybe next time we could find what exactly they're doing, in case we interrupted something already in work. As far as we know? That was just step five, one that can easily be redone at anytime."

"Yeah."

Sky sighed and preceded to go all the way through the town and back to the lighthouse, passing by the person replacing her at guard duty. She just told him to get going before she went off to drop off Shantae. Her good friend silently got off and walked inside, with Sky watching to make sure she didn't try to do anything sneaky. Sky walked off, turning back to glare down Shantae when she tried to escape. Shantae would need a baby-sitter at this rate. At least her day had come to a close with no-one dying on her watch and no impending attack from outside threats.

"Welcome home, honey." Sky's mother called over from the kitchen as she walked in. "You got a friend in your room waiting for you." Sky blinked as she thought about which friend her mother mentioned. Not Shantae or Bolo, her mother would have mentioned them by their names. Walking up to her room and opening the door to her room, she got surprised by something she would never expect to see.

"Care for a romp?" Rottytops asked, lifting the thin strap of her lacey lingerie.


	8. Rest And Think

Shantae couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She was a grown-ass woman being placed on friendly house-arrest and couldn't leave without a escort. Barely could go outside and tend to the flowers without needing someone following right behind her. Shantae really wanted to say: 'I'm pregnant, not stupid!' But then again, she did a stupid thing and nearly got her and the baby killed. So she tried replacing 'stupid' with 'disabled'…but then a swift kick of fatigue washed over her and she fell into a nearby chair.

…okay, she might need a escort. Every now and then.

Nowadays she didn't do much on her own. Made meals and tended to plants, that's about it. Heavy-lifting had been given to Bolo, Mimic and Sky handled groceries and Rottytops did other errands. Admittedly, she didn't mind being pampered to, she just wished that it wasn't constant. She still suffered from some problems; constant stop to the bathroom, hunger pains, and as mentioned, fatigue. A little help would be much appreciated!

But the biggest problem Shantae had while being cooped up in her own house? Loneliness. She missed interacting with other people that weren't in her social circle. Above all, she wanted to go out and talk with the people of Scuttle Town. Learn what's going on, the love affairs, the heated debates, the new products…she missed the hustle and bustle of the town. She still could go out into town…but she preferred the anonymity of the situation. Maybe once the fatigue wears off she'll be let out back in town.

…but maybe it's not companionship or just talking with random people Shantae wanted.

She looked over to the table in the center of the room to see her two friends talking with each other. Rottytops' interest in Sky had grown from simple affection to outright lust. Rottytops' hands were inching close to Sky across the table. From this angle, it appeared that Rottytops wanted to cop a feel on Sky's breasts that laid on the tabletop. Sky, obviously not interested, decided to play it safe and keep any part of her body away from the zombie's prying hands. She still kept a steady smile on.

Romance. Shantae wanted romance. But who would be interested in her? Well, there would the obvious people interested in dating a genie girl known for belly-dancing…but would the pregnant belly ward off suitors?

…did Shantae want…

She stopped herself short and took a deep breath. Out of the question. No. Bad idea. Never. Everyone would hate the proposed idea, and she already hated the idea! Shantae wanted to smack herself a few times for even thinking of the stupid thought, but she didn't want to do that in front of the overprotective Sky.

Risky would NEVER settle down…


	9. Stretching Out

Itchy.

Ever had that itch that you could never get to? The kind that even when you grab a ruler or maybe even the handy scratching stick and no matter how hard or how gentle you do it, the itch doesn't ever die?

Shantae had one such itch.

Her belly had grown to the point where she needed sweat or specially-made pants to wear. She had reached the point in between months three and four, so at least the morning sickness started to die down and the others pains picked up. In the corner mockingly laid a cane in case she started to develop pains in the back or knees. A gift from Bolo AKA 'Luckless In Love.' Shantae's slow bellydancing at least kept her moving despite the enlarged stomach area. Her other friends were smart enough to get her medication in case of other aches that dancing wouldn't fix. Of all things, Rottytops gave her pills for headaches…a pill bottle that hadn't been touched since Rottytops had uncolored flesh. Mimic provided things for heartburn, his old medication. Sky kept up the grocery shopping, getting Shantae all sorts of healthy food…but Shantae always waited for Rottytops to come by with a huge sack of candy and other things that Sky would have a fit over seeing Shantae eat.

She didn't want to use ad hominem …but…

"You can't leave in your current state." Sky repeated for, what, the hundred time this week? "You can barely get out of bed now."

"Can I at least go into town?" Shantae groaned. "I'm pretty sure that the people want to know I'm still alive!"

"Good point." Rottytops called out, still braiding Sky's hair.

"Too dangerous." Sky clicked her tongue as Rottytops accidently yanked a bit hard on one of the tails. "Risky is gone…for now…but there's still plenty of monsters and normal bandits running about that see a pregnant woman as a easy target."

"Ya know?" Rotty sighed as she slowly stroked the tail to calm Sky down. "You're being a bit too paranoid. Pregnant woman can still do things. They can work…"

"…EASY work."

"…exercise…"

"…LIGHT exercise.."

"…interact…"

"…SHORT interactions…"

"…talk…"

"…SMALL talk…HEY."

"Gotcha!" Rotty giggled. "Always falling for easy ones…"

"Look." Sky started again. "Shantae, I fear for you and even the safety of Risky's baby. Yes, I feel a bit paranoid that the worst will still happen regardless of how I prepare for it. Even I feel you aren't safe in your own home, but I can't booby-trap it like I did with the walk-way…"

"About that…" Risky sighed as she freed her arms of the brush to easily yank off her right leg, despite the staples. "…mines? Really?"

"Did you really not see them?" Sky sighed, as if mining the whole and only way to a friend's house was a logical and smart thing to do. "I had signs put out, left them uncovered, and had them placed around so there is a walkway for normal…the only way you trip on them is if you decided to come to in by sea or try to sneak at the corners. So…"

"I tripped over a rock and was lucky that my body didn't land directly on a mine." Rotty continued with the brushing, but feeling a bit peeved, she started to brush harder and faster. Sky started out gun out 'ows' as Rotty ended up yanking several thick strands of hair. "Sorry." Rotty honestly apologized.

"If you feel that protective of me, maybe you should join me in town." Shantae sighed. "I do need to get out every now and then. I can't be cooped up all the time."

"If you really think…" Sky started.

"What?" Shantae let out a small giggle. "Afraid you'll lose me in a crowd? Or are you worried that despite your own precautions, you can't actually protect me if you aren't far away?" Sky's face flushed with an deep, angry red. Shantae didn't really like egging her friend on like that, but the desire to leave the confides of her home were really start to make her entire body itch.

"Fine." Sky grunted, getting up to her feet. "Tomorrow. Two hours, lunch time. I'll clear a path for us. See you then." She got up and went outside to go plan for tomorrow, despite having only one braid done. Rottytops got up with the brush in hand, determined to try and finish the second braid while on the move. Hopefully Rottytops won't end up tripping on a mine on the way out.

Free from the constraint of friends, Shantae jumped up and got to doing her usual dancing. Each day, it seemed that she was getting slower and slower in the way her hips and legs moved. Soon, she feared that her arms would follow suit. Once she popped little Nina, she would be hitting up the dance parlor and doing the Rank A challenge all night long. For now, slow and easy will keep her cool and relaxed during the pregnancy.

But now she finally convinced Sky to let her out, Shantae's mind raced with what she could do with only two hours in town. She would have lunch in the finest restaurant in town, where the freshest tikka masala would be served with the fluffiest naan. Of course, she would have to eat slowly, as the spiciness wouldn't sit well with her and Nina. So, that would eat up half the time she was allotted, maybe only 45 minutes if lucky. She could do a little shopping of her own, maybe get something that was comfy and fitting for her current condition. Use the rest of the time she had to say hi for a few friends. And if all goes well and Sky is happy, there would be more outings with a longer time limit.

Shantae felt a bit winded, but she kept going with a delayed pace. She needed to keep going, keep doing something. The itching was going away.


	10. From War Comes The Father Coming Home

Treasure surrounding her. Cabinets stuffed with the finest food and the always important food. Men armed to the teeth with the greatest firepower this world had to offer. A unsinkable galleon that would just shrug off a barrage of a hundred explosive cannonballs. Any given desire she wanted to play out would be a simple matter to accomplish.

And yet Risky couldn't shake the immense feeling of boredom.

Another successful raid of a port town, another day, another dollar earned. But even standing amongst her spoils didn't even get a raise out of her. The town of Isis had a powerful military, having heard about Risky's attacks against Sequin Land over the years. Not wanting to rely on a single defender, they created their own army and used their skills in trading to gain powerful weapons and defenses to protect their town. Risky had to spend the last two weeks planning out their attack…and she succeeded! The town might as well not have any defenses whatsoever!

Why wasn't she celebrating?

Risky jumped out of her chair made out of stacked gold coins and went towards her security system. She had to install a really large antenna for it to reach all the way back to Sequin Land and the blasted thing stood out like a sore thumb. Risky would had said it was worth it if Shantae was doing something.

She spent the last month cooped up in her home, followed by some incident that she and Sky didn't want to talk about. While this did make things simple to keep track of where and what Shantae was planning on, Risky did want to see Shantae do something…else. All the effort she (Her minions) went into setting up cameras all over town, and out of twenty-three, only three were showing anything. Risky almost regretted not setting a camera in the bathroom…almost.

Seeing Shantae bath? Risky would keep that tape for years. Seeing Shantae reliving herself would require a few hundred baths to be rid of that thought. And she couldn't position the camera away from the toilet…

Shantae. Always back to Shantae. When planning a raid, Shantae. When counting the loot, Shantae. At night, trying to get some sleep? Shantae. Eating a boring meal of bread and gravy? Shantae. Doing anything, really? Shantae! Just forever on her mind. And while Risky did lust after Shantae…there was the problem that Shantae had been her greatest enemy who handed her several defeats. Kinda hard to think past that…

One of the Tinkerbats nudged her. "Yes?" She asked in a father nice manner compared how she usually talked to them. "Something come up?" The tinkerbat pulled up a poster showing that Risky's bounty had risen considerably. Came close to a doubling. But the real juice came at the bottom of the poster: "No longer wanted dead or alive. Wanted dead. Navy will be conducting a series of daily sweeps to hunt down the scourge.

"Ha!" Risky roared out. "About time they got serious about me." She let out a long breath before considering her options. It would be pretty cheeky of her to attack another port while the navy upped their patrols. But Risky decided it might be better to lay low for a bit; let the navy waste their time looking for a pirate who decided to beat it when the going got good.

And…why not visit a old friend? In secret, of course. Don't want to break that promise now.

With the course laid in for Sequin Land, Risky quickly whipped her Tinketbats into order to disguise the ship. She already had discovered the loophole in the promise a long time ago.


	11. A Normal Day Interrupted

"So…I gots the question for 'ya, Shantae…it's been on my mind for some time."

"Okay. Shoot."

"How did you and Risky do the deed?"

"Curse it all Rotty. Can you go a day without being a nuisance?"

"All part of my contract, honey. *Smack*"

"If you're going to kiss me, do it for real. We're right next to each other."

"Oh, Sky! That's way too easy."

Shantae couldn't help by giggle at Sky and Rottytop's little tirade as they walked through the main road through town. Today felt so great! Her back and feet didn't hurt, the weather wasn't going nuts, her stomach was nice and easy, and she felt incredibly energetic! If her belly didn't stick out, she would be cartwheeling through town right now.

"But really, how did you, a girl, get knocked up by Risky, a girl?" Rottytops honestly asked, complete with Sky sighing and shaking a head like a mother who saw her child go and do the thing she told them to not do.

"Genie magic!" Shantae chirped.

"Oh." Rottytops just let out. "I mean…I figured that. But…"

"I'm not giving you details!" Shantae laughed out. Rottytops pouted at that. Sky dragged Rottytops ahead with a long annoyed grunt.

…still, it got Shantae thinking back to the fated night. After agreeing to Risky's proposition, things got heated incredibly quickly. Risky tore off her top and asked Shantae to do the same. Once her top was properly taken off, Risky pressed breasts against breasts and shoved Shantae against a wall. After whispering of what she planned to do to the half-genie that night, Risky stuck her tongue into Shantae's open mouth and easily tied down Shantae's tongue…

…and then the Tinkerbats interrupted by carrying in a bed…

Shantae quivered. That night was a mixture of many emotions…some good, some bad…each day her mind changed if the night she gained Nina was a good memory or a bad memory. Much like how she viewed the child…Nina could be someone she could grow to love…or something she would rather forget.

"Stop lollygagging!" Rottytops slapped Shantae on the back, breaking her train of thought. "Geez, you keep getting lost in your thoughts as of late That baby is really distracting you."

"Sorry, it's just…" Shantae motioned over her enlarged belly. "This isn't a pet rock, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Rottytops sighed and rocked back and forth. "You know…" She wagged her finger for a while without saying anything. She frowned and sighed again. "…never mind, it's something stupid." Sky had turned around to return back to her group with her now iconic annoyed expression. Shantae wanted to pry, but Sky just wanted to keep going towards the restaurant.

The smell! Dear gods, the smell! Shantae could lick the air and her tongue would just explode…much like that bird that landed on the minefield outside her home this morning. The servers were ecstatic to see one of their favorite customers walking in so they provided immediate service with the freshest food, steaming hot off the tandoor. It even made Sky smile as she happily dug into her meal of shrimp vindaloo.

But then Sky had to run off, recognizing two guards that were supposed to be on duty right now, leaving Shantae alone with Rottytops. Once Sky dragged the guards off to glue to their posts, (And the way she stressed that part meant she would be doing that literally.) Shantae scooted her chair up to Risky and gave a firm stare at the zombie. "Tell me what you talking before?"

"What?" Rottytops muttered between chews of rice.

"About the baby." Shantae patted her pregnant belly. "You were going to ask something but you then stopped. What were you going to ask me?" Rottytops looked down and then away from Shantae, shoveling in another spoonful of rice and curry. "Rotty, if you would tell me what were you going to ask…I'll can…get you something of Sky's."

Rottytops nearly dropped her spoon to the ground upon hearing that. "…anything?"

"Anything." Shantae sighed. "I'll ask to stay at her house for a few days. She'll agree to it, as her house is safer than mine. I'll grab whatever you want…" Shantae stopped herself and held up a hand to also stop Rottytops. "I can get you some underwear…"

"No, our relationship isn't that deep yet." Rottytops waved it off with a whistle.

"'kay, what would you rather have? Shirt? Skirt? Bra? Or something silly?"

"Her head bandana."

Shantae snapped her fingers. "You want to smell her sweat or something?"

"Brain juices actually."

Shantae slammed her head into the table. Rottytops tapped her on the back. "I'm kidding." Rottytops stated. "Still, I do love her hand bandana."

"Okay." Shantae breathed out as she lifted her head off the polished table. "Back to the subject at hand. What were you going to ask me before you stopped?"

Rottytops blushed, at least the best she could given her undead status. "I…want to do the same thing with Sky."

Suddenly, the air became heavy. Shantae's appetite faded and her stomach hovered up. Rottytops' head bobbed up and down before she buried herself down onto the table. It was a good minute of awkward silence before Shantae could bring herself to say: "You want to do that? With Sky?"

"Yes." Rottytops said, all muffled by her lips pressed against the table.

"Why?" Shantae exasperated. "I…mean…" She stumbled over her words, mixing in random noises and incomplete words. "…I COULD do it…" Rottytops pulled herself up with a weird smile. "…yes, I could make it possible for you and Sky to have a child. But why?" She traced a circle on her pregnant belly with her open palm. "Like I said, this isn't a pet rock. It's a living…" Shantae stopped and arched a eyebrow in thought. "Okay, if you were the father and Sky were to carry your child, would the baby be half-dead, half-alive? And how would you even go about it…wouldn't you being a zombie mean your DNA wouldn't it…"

"But it's magic." Rottytops pointed out. "It doesn't have to make sense right?"

"I guess not…"

"Okay." Rottytops sighed and laid her hands flat on the table. "The reason why I want to have a child with Sky?" Her hands shook as she started. "Sky…is someone I really care about. Like, more than a usual friend, more than a fling." She balled up her hands and rubbed them up and down the table. "I…want to have a life with Sky. I want to share a bed and a roomy shower with her. I want to kiss her every day, every hour. I want…to be with her."

"Rottytops…"

"And I'm serious." Rottytops banged the table, getting the attention of some of the patrons and the servers for a brief while before they all decided it would be better to not get invested in the affairs of the zombie girl and the half-genie. "I really want this! And I think we would make a good couple, and have a cute baby and, and…"

"I'll do it." Shantae told.

"You would?"

"Only if Sky agrees." Shantae poked Rottytops. "If Sky feels the sameway, and wants to mother a child with you, I'll use my magic to give you the *ahem* equipment to perform…"

"OH THANK YOU!" Rottytops grabbed Shantae into a massive bearhug and clutched her tight. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU…"

"Uh-huh."

Both girls turned around to see Sky standing there, dumbfounded, and carrying a bottle of glue. "I see you swing both ways." Sky clicked her tongue.

"This is a…" Rottytops started before detaching herself form Shantae. "…a BFF hug! You know, a normal…"

"One of your hands is on her left breast."

Good thing Sky already had the glue on her. So after silently fixing Risky and paying for the meal, the three left the place without a single word shared amongst each other. The trio walked through town quietly to the next destination on Shantae's list: the shopping district by the docks. Soon the sound of merchants calling out products and deal and street musicians playing replaced the general ambience of the streets.

"Oooh, sale on coffee beans." Rottytops cheered as she dragged Sky off with her. This allowed Shantae to start humming a nice gentle tune and go into a different direction without constant supervision. She browsed the rows of vendors for half a hour, making sure to look behind her every so often to check to see if Sky went on a warpath looking for her. Shantae also made sure to look up, in case Wrench was summoned.

Everything was fine…until Shantae's ears picked up something she didn't expect to hear for many years.

"FFFRRREESSSHHH FISH FROM ACROSS THE WORLD! IT'S A STEAL AT THESE RATES!"

Shantae's eyes went wide and all the curry in her stomach stormed up like a ship in a hurricane. She followed the voice to the source like a coffee-less zombie to brains. There, at the end of one of the docks, laid a fishmonger and her crew…a very familiar fishmonger and her very familiar crew. Not many people surrounded the stand and little of those people were buying the obviously low quality fish. Shantae approached the fishmonger in big clothes and dodgy wig and hoarsely whispered, "You said…"

"I would never return?" The fishmonger put on a wicked smile. "Yes. I said I. I, as in Risky Boots. But I'm not Risky Boots, I'm Ricky Barrow, fishmonger." Ricky held up a giant carp. "Free of charge for the pregnant lady?"


	12. A Later Appointment

Silence hung in the air between Shantae and not-Risky-Boots. The pregnant half-genie stood there with a cross look and cross arms, glaring down the not-pirate in her horribly bad disguise. Shantae tapped her foot, wanting 'Ricky' to drop this whole thing and get the hell out of town.

"Really." Shantae blandly asked.

"Ricky Barrow is Ricky Barrows, no one else!" Ricky put on a huge smile that pushed off any faults that would give her away. "This is my first time in these lands, and I got to say…" She looked around with wandering eyes, like she hadn't been here at any point in her life. 'Ricky' even gazed over to a watchtower armed with a cannon that was specifically built for a notorious pirate that resembled the fishmonger. "…this place looks ready for a major naval war. You have a problem with pirates?"

"Yes." Shantae grunted. "With a certain one." Shantae managed to put on a smile. "In fact, I dare say you resemble that certain one."

"A certain pirate, huh?" Ricky licked her lips in thought. "I think…I know of this certain lady pirate…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mention that the pirate was a lady." Shantae pointed out with a bigger smile.

"Can't you not tell by the way I walk I'm a lady?" Ricky asked, shimmering closer to Shantae in the most overblow and ridiculous manner possible. "My parents named me Ricky to avoid the stigma of being treated like a stupid lady in the fish business. My parents have been keeping this business running for hundreds of years and I have no intention of ruining my family name by becoming a pirate."

"That's impossible." Shantae sighed, letting Ricky get a little confident before adding, "You're already a pirate."

"No no no." Ricky waved her hands around frantically. "I am never a pirate. No intention to join a illegal profession." Shantae couldn't help but let out a small little giggle at Risky's bad attempt to hide. A sudden and nonsensical issue with grammar with the intention of trying to sound foreign…Shantae did break her train of thought to wonder if Risky was a native to Sequin Land.

But she quickly got back on track with another question. "So…a blonde?" She said as she pointed towards the obvious and messy wig.

"Aye." Risky shot out, not really aware that most regular fishmongers don't use that term. "Momma was a blonde and so was grandaddie from my pa's side…"

"So your father is purpled-haired?" Shantae asked while pointing to a side of Risky's head. Risky panicked and fiddled with the wig, showing off more of her bandana and strands of purple hair than the very tiny and very easy to miss hint of purple. Risky's eyes went wide and her mouth quivered. She reached up, felt around underside of the wig and realized the deception. "Yeah." Shantae huffed. "Like I didn't see RIGHT through the wig."

"Keep it down." Risky hissed, putting her regular voice back on. "Nina would resent you if she were to found that that her daddy was executed thanks to her momma."

"You already have a escape route planned out." Shantae figured.

"I do, but I don't want to cause trouble now. I just want to see the mother of my child." Risky admitted, bending over slightly to avoid detection. "So, how are you and Nina?"

"Good, but I do believe you went back on a promise." Shantae growled. "Never again would I set foot on Sequin Land? Sound familiar?"

"Which is why I'm Ricky Barrow and not Risky Boots." Risky hissed, trying to get Shantae to be quieter. "I got lonely, I admit. Not even someone as heartless as me could go long without actual human interaction. Got to say…I really do miss our little talks."

"Yeah, I miss the days where I used to whip you in the face with my hair." Shantae grunted as she laid a gentle hand down on her exposed belly. "And trust me, despite my condition, I will be really happy if I get to smack you in the face once more. Why would you risk everything just to say hi?"

"Is that you think I would come down to say?" Risky smiled as she reached into her apron and pulled out a notepad. "I think we should talk business elsewhere, huh?" She quickly scribbled out something and ripped off a note for Shantae, using her Ricky voice again. "Later, tonight. Before I have to make departure to go get more catch." Shantae barely glanced at the note before tucking it into her pocket. "See you later good lady! I wish you well on your child!" Ricky waved to Shantae as 'he' returned to the stand to continue selling fish.

Shantae quickly grew worried of her surroundings and looked up and around. It seems like Risky had gotten lucky; neither Sky nor Wrench had gone off to look for the missing half-genie. It had been nearly a hour since they last saw each other. Did something come up?

But regardless of the current presence of her mother hen, Shantae turned around and head back into the main road of town. Once the crowd covered her up, she decided to actually read the note. Scrawled in thin strokes of ink was written: "10 o'clock at the old place." Shantae couldn't help but swallow some heavy air.

"There you are!" Came the cry of the mother hen Sky as she walked off in a huge huff. Rottytops, carrying a oversized bag of mixed coffee beans, came up right behind her. "You shouldn't have run off, what if you had another muscle spasm?"

"I'm healthier now. I'll be fine on my own." Shantae once more tried to affirm her position as someone who didn't need a babysitter or need someone to ferry her around all the time.

"Honestly?" Sky sighed as she came right into Shantae's face. "You really do need a babysitter…or at least someone to ferry you around if you're just going to run off."

"You ran off." Shantae pointed out and as well to the giant bag of coffee beans that Rottytops was having a big issue holding up. At this point, the bag became a lethal weapon…to someone that already died. "I just browsed a bit. Found a few things." Shantae held her bags. "I'm ready to go home, warden."

Sky didn't appreciate the nickname but did lead on back in the direction of the lighthouse. Shantae followed right behind them, helping Risky with her large collection of coffee beans from around the world. While Shantae felt like sticking around longer to do more shopping, she needed to return home for now.

If she were to visit Risky later tonight, she would need to come up with a plan to sneak past Sky.


	13. We Have To Make This Work

Sky was a very observant person, being a bird trainer and all that. Unless Shantae had the power to go invisible, Sky would bark out a order without turning around for Shantae to stop crawling around and return back inside. Even then, Sky probably had a heightened sense of smell, hearing and probably had a sixth sense that could feel for the presence of others.

So…Shantae needed a way to trick Sky into making her completely unaware of her surroundings and not even consider that the whole thing was a distraction set up by Shantae. But what?

"Oh, Sky ~"

"Oh my god."

Sky stood there, completely slack-jawed at the sight of Rottytops doing her best impression of Shantae's famous bellydancing while dressed as the Tan Line Princess. There was…SO MUCH she had to ask. First off, why? Second, how did she get ahold of the outfit? Did she steal it? Third off…why was all of her attention dedicated to watching a zombie girl dance?

Shantae heaved a bit, trying her best to keep any noise down, but having a difficult time due to Nina taking up a lot of energy and room. Sure made it a tight squeeze to get through the loose floorboards. At least she didn't scratch herself or snag her jacket on the boards or any loose nails. Shantae got up to her feet in a slightly painful manner, but she at least could stand on her own weight. Looking behind her and through a window, she could see that Sky was completely mesmerized by the swaying hips and bouncing breasts of the zombie girl. Rottytops gave a quick wink towards Shantae, giving her the go-ahead to do her own thing.

Shantae didn't tell Rottytops that she was meeting Risky, just that she needed some alone time. Rottytops agreed, only because the plan involved seducing her new love. Shantae didn't waste any time and rushed along to the meeting place. The docks were pretty much empty of both people and boats, much like the night the two originally met and conceived Nina. The only ships in the harbor were Risky's disguised boat and the mayor's boat.

Shantae found the wall. The wall where Risky pinned her to, ripped off her top with her teeth and whispered some heated innuendos into her ear…right before licking said ear. Risky was all about melting her partner's body into her own, all done in such a delightful manner. Shantae reflected on that memory as she laid against the wall.

In yet another event of history repeating itself, Risky came right of nowhere from the shadows and pressed her weight against Shantae's, right before kissing her on the cheek. "Ah, you missed me." Risky huffed out as she ran her hands over Shantae's curvy body. "Mmm, I'm getting a new fetish…" She admitted as she patted Shantae's enlarged belly.

Shantae didn't take to the unwanted advances and shoved Risky off. "What did you want to talk about? What's so important that you had to break the promise you made to me to not come back? Sky WILL kill you."

"There is a good reason." Risky clapped her hands together. "Two reasons." She rubbed her hands, trying to keep warm during the chilly night. "First off, I'm a wanted criminal by the Navy. They no longer wish for me to be alive, they want me dead."

"So you came to see me and potentially brought a murder squad to Sequin Land." Shantae sighed. "Great."

"I'm smart enough to avoid detection." Risky insisted. "Plus, that Navy doesn't operate out here. Why do you think you were the only person to oppose me when I attacked?" Risky shrugged with a demented smile. "Just need to lay low for a bit and they'll forget about all my misdeeds. Give them a while, and I can pass by a navy fleet with a nice smile and a wave."

"And the second reason?" Shantae moaned out loud.

"To take you along with me, my bride." Risky pointed back to her boat. Shantae gasped and took a step back. Risky dropped the smile and her usual antagonist posture and started to sound a lot more sincere. "Look." Risky sighed. "I'm lonely. I miss our battles, our banter, our…unique relationship. I just miss you." She approached Shantae and placed a hand on her shoulder. Shantae jumped, but didn't try to shake Risky off. "I can't…find any joy in being a pirate without you. If I can't fight you, I need you to at least be my second mate. Come with me." She moved her hand off Shantae's shoulder and grabbed her by the right hand and dragged her along. "Come on. Get away from all this, away from the nagging Sky. See the world with me. Be a pirate and have some great fun!"

Shantae looked out to the sea. The moon reflecting on the surface of the water made for a beautiful sight to take in, watching the moonlight ripple across the ocean. The world would have a ton more beautiful sights to take in. Would be a nice change of pace after a long time spent cooped up.

But…would it be good for Nina? Being born and raised on the lamb? With the possibility of never being able to return back to her home, her friends and her uncle?

"I can't." Shantae broke away from the hand holding. Risky let out a breath of air. "I…can't leave here." She waved over back to the mainland. "I have my friends…and Nina…"

"I was already coming to take Nina as my protégé, this whole plan was to make a protégé." Risky hissed. "It would be better if she was born into the life rather than being taken to become apart of it. Do you want that?" She pointed to pregnant belly. "You want your child to be taken away from the easy life, away from you, so she can become a pirate?"

Shantae really couldn't find a good answer to that. She was right. The original plan was for Shantae to birth and raise a child for eight years…before Risky would come in and take the child before leaving forever. Nina could easily be killed in the meantime, or become a far worse criminal than Risky.

Then again, the same thing could happen if Nina was literally born into the lifestyle. All those years of being taught to be a pirate could make her far worse than if she was picked up when she was eight. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

"I…just can't." Shantae walked off with a sullen look. "There's too much here…and I want Nina to be born safely." She gave one last look back towards the shocked Risky and then hurried along to go home. Shantae gave not a single look back towards the person she was having a child with, just continuing onto back home.

"Shantae!" Risky yelled out to. "SHANTAE!" She cried out, literally as her eyes were burning from the hot tears. "SHANTAE!"


	14. The Morning After

Shantae didn't bother trying to sneak back in the way she previously escaped. She just walked back in through the front entrance. Rather oddly, Sky and Rottytops weren't around. The lights were out in the living room, but it looks the guest room that Sky had inhabited had a light on, going by the beam of light coming from under the closed door.

Knowing that she wasn't the one to talk about anything relationship related, Shantae just shuffled across the house into her room and gently laid on her back. No covers tonight, she felt a bit hot. Shantae closed her eyes and focused on going to sleep. Her mind kept on running no matter what how hard she tried to shut it down. Just too much trouble on her brain tonight.

Going out to see Risky was a mistake. A huge mistake. She just angered one of the most dangerous people in the world. Or rather, she made one of the most dangerous people in the world sad. Shantae could clearly hear the sadness in Risky's voice as she walked away from the pirate. She just left a pirate who didn't play the rules, regularly sacked ports, had a huge bounty on her, and used loopholes in promises alone and depressed on the shores of a place she used to attack.

In a sense, not going to see her tonight might have been the bigger mistake: Risky would have done anything to go and see Shantae…maybe even killing the people of Scuttle Town. The only hope that Shantae held onto was the Risky would at least honor the promise and leave…and this time not come back. Shantae didn't hear any cannonfire, so she took no news as good news.

But the next thing she knew…it had become morning. The light of the ever looming sun broke through the window and shined down right on Shantae's face. She groaned as she opened her cracked eyes to the light of the new morning. It didn't take her long to realize that she just had the worst kind of sleep: the kind where you don't know if you're asleep. Just felt like she kept her eyes closed the entire time. Shantae whispered a 'sorry' to Nina before getting up to do her usual morning routine.

She changed into her usual sleeping wear, not wanting to raise suspension to Sky, who assumed that Shantae had staid in her home all night. Shantae walked out and straight to the bathroom for fifteen minutes of waiting around for a sudden change in her bowels. So far, she felt fine. Maybe she had gotten past that point. Healthy meals, exercise and belly dancing definitely kept her body running smoothly despite the second life inside of her. Still, might as well spend some time in bathroom each day just as a precaution.

Heading out to the kitchen, she found a surprising sight. A beaming Sky! She actually had a smile on her face and a little spring in her step as she worked on a big plate of pancakes for Shantae and Risky, who was rotating her tongue around her mouth. If her lips weren't already dead, they be cracked and dry. Then again, her tongue seemed to be a bit loose today…

"Had a good night's sleep?" Sky asked as she slapped down a tall stack of five pancakes on Shantae's plate before dousing the stack with a thick shower of blueberry syrup.

"Sorta." Shantae sniffed. "I didn't know that I fell asleep in the first place. Kinda tired."

"Might as well take it easy today." Sky sighed as she finished up on Rottytop's plate. Rottytops clapped her hands for the chef. "Yesterday probably wore you out."

"Yeah, I agree!" Rottytops nodded as she managed to jam in a entire pancake into her mouth. Syrup ran down and through the various holes under her jaw. Sky quickly shoved a bath towel into Rottytop's shirt, preventing the zombie girl from ruining her ruined clothes, her rotten body, but mostly the carpet. "All that running around must have pooped you out."

"Yeah." Shantae breathed out as she relaxed into her chair. She gathered all of her remaining energy to take her fork and knife into hand and cut away at her breakfast. Once she managed to cut a bite out of the tower of syrup and pancakes, she lifted her fork up and took in the bite. Despite it being drenched in thick syrup, the pancake tasted fantastic! Buttery and fluffy, with a small hint of maple. Really had to ask Sky for the recipe/the pancake mix. Nina would love this.

Speaking of Nina, Sky announced she needed to head out and give today's orders to the guards, leaving Rottytops and Shantae alone. Feeling safe that the zombie girl could keep a secret, even from her new lover, Shantae told, "The reason I went out last night was to see Risky."

Rottytops nearly sprayed syrup all over Shantae when she heard that. "Risky? In town? When did this happen?" She quickly relaxed

"She was the new fish monger." Shantae explained.

"I knew there was something weird about that Ricky guy." Rottytops wondered out loud. She sounded…earnest. Like she never considered it.

"Yeah, that's her loophole." Shantae continued. "She came back not as Risky Boots…but as Ricky Butts." She didn't even bother to remember the second part of Risky's stupid name. "She offered to take me away from Sequin Land and make me and Nina pirates."

"Well…" Rottytops whistled. "…at least I earned some quality time with Sky."

"Yeah." Shantae sighed. "Risky said…she was lonely. She missed me…and she seemed to be…honest."

"A honest pirate." Rottytops commented after swallowing a entire pancake. "The same one who broke a promise."

"She…" Shantae stopped herself, not wanting to give any credit towards Risky. "Yeah, you're right. She's probably playing me. Sorry about the run-around last night."

"Like I said." Rottytops let out a happy sigh as she quickly finished up her pancakes. "I got some free time with Sky, totally worth it." She got up and placed the dish into the sink. "Welp, I'm off! Got to deliver my coffee beans to my house and share with my brothers." She raced over to a corner of the living room, where a giant burlap bag awaited. "See ya later. I'll get Bolo to come by and watch ya."

"I don't need watching…" Shantae started, right before she got up and nearly tripped over her own momentum. "Okay." She stopped. "Send in Bolo." She sighed as Rottytops waved bye and took her leave. After a minute of tugging and shifting the bag through the doorway.

Shantae sighed as she returned to her chair and her delicious meal. Before she could deliver another tasty bite into her mouth, something made her jump and drop the fork onto the plate.

Nina just kicked.


	15. A Short Interlude With The Others

Sky breathed in. Then she breathed out a second later. She repeated her exercise for a good thirty seconds before jumping up to her feet.

"Ready?" Rottytops asked, holding up the stopwatch. Sky nodded and bent over, placing her hands flat on the ground. "Okay, on three…" Rottytops rested a thumb on the starter switch. Sky breathed in and out again. She stared forward towards the obstacle course that had been set up over the weekend. "One…" Sky gritted her teeth, readying herself to fly forward and beat her record. "Two…" Sky started to rapidly take in and out breaths. "Four!"

Sky lurched forward, but after recognizing the fact that Rottytops said 'four' she fell forward onto the ground in a embarrassing heap. "You little…" Sky grunted as she picked herself up.

"Timer's still going!" Rottytops twisted her hand with the stopwatch in it around. Sky let out a long groan as she jumped up to her feet and ran towards the first obstacle in the course, the poles of varying heights she needed to quickly vault over and some to slide under. She quickly launched herself up into the air to get over the first hurdle and ducked into a ball to roll under the next one. Obviously, she had to slow down to properly alternate between leaping and sliding, but she felt she made good timing getting past the first part of the course.

Then came the trench. Sky dived into the trench and landed on both flat feet. She raced towards the far wall and tackled it, grabbing ahold of all of the holds. With great strength, she pulled herself up and over back to solid ground, ready to tackle the next challenge.

Which happened to be the tires. Sky sighed at the simplicity at the challenge. In fact, she tackled the course without really thinking about it. Another wall to climb, this one stretching up to the sky. Like with the trench, Sky immediately latched onto the holds and pulled herself up to the top. Once her feet landed on the top of the flat top, she took another quick breath before dropping herself the fifteen feet down, tucking herself into a roll to not only dampen the impact but to keep her momentum going.

More hurdles, but Sky's mind was in hyperdrive, so she didn't stop and kept going. Jumping and rolling through any obstacle that came her way. With the finish line in sight, she bounded herself to cross the line on her stomach. "FINISH!" She shouted. "What's the time? And subtract whatever time I wasted on your stupid prank!"

"Well…" Rottytops tapped the side of her head a few times. As Rottytops got p, she could hear the faint sound of a clock ticking away seconds. "…you see…"

"STOP THE WATCH!"

"Oops!" Rottytops let out a fake gasp. "Forgot." She finally hit the switch and the stopwatch finally stopped. "Okay, youre time is…double h and 26 seconds!"

"Double h?" Sky panted as she walked over to snatch the watch. "You're holding it upside down. 44 seconds and 59 microseconds. And subtracting the time wasted…eh, round it to 43 seconds on the dot." She pumped her hands up. "New record! Of all of one second difference!" Sky then fell over backwards in exhaustion.

"Worn out?" Rottytops bent over to face Sky on the ground. Sky nodded. "Righto, I'll carry you." Rottytops bent down and grabbed Sky by her armpits and dragged her away, her idea of 'carrying'. Then again, if she did try to carry the muscle-packed woman the normal way, her arms would have ripped right off. It wasn't a long drag, Sky and Rottytops sent up the course next to the guardhouse that Sky had converted into her own home to escape her parents. Once they got past the door, Rottytops managed the strength to lift Sky up and softly dropped her onto the bed. "Shall I tuck you in?" Sky nodded and Rottytops lifted the sheets around Sky and above her.

"It's just a short nap." Sky yawned. "I need to beat that course in 40 seconds if I'm going to truly be ready for Risky."

"All right, see ya in two hours!" Rottytops chimed as she plastered a kiss on Sky's forehead. Sky actually put on a nice smile before she closed her eyes and went to go drifting into the land of slumber. Rottytops went outside to give Sky some time alone.

That, and Rottytops didn't live there…yet. Sky just moved out, in the last month. And while Sky did have some deep sexual fantasies about the zombie-girl, she wasn't ready to have Rottytops move in with her. Her parents wouldn't be too keen on her daughter dating someone of the same sex…that, and someone who had been dead for quite some time.

But hey! Rottytops had a winning personality, a great rack, a excellent runner, could make a great cup of coffee, a great rack, a great rack…

As far as she was concerned, all she needed to gain the blessing of Sky's parents were to allow her breasts to bounce freely.

Rottytops sat down on a nearby stool and looked over the course. When Sky first proposed that the two of them spend a weekend together building this course, Rottytops had two thoughts on it. One, why would Sky need a obstacle course when Sequin Land already had plenty of obstacle courses full of monsters? And second, there are plenty of better ways to spend a weekend alone with your girlfriend…

…and yet Rottytops felt satisfied about setting up the course. Perhaps it was the chances to see Sky all sweaty. Perhaps it allowed Rottytops to get closer to Sky…in a more physical sense. Maybe deep down Rottytops sought a deeper connection with the woman she fell in love with and even a tiring physical task over a weekend with her was totally worth it…but being a zombie with a half-melted brain, any deep thoughts immediately went away and were replaced with boobies.

Rottytops considered actually changing the course up a bit, perhaps throw in a few slippery banana peels, oil puddles, or something that could distract Sky…like cute bird plushies. But she stopped herself short of thinking any further than that. Not only would Sky realize what Rottytops did…but that could jeopardize their relationship.

So Rottytops just sat there on her stool for a good two hours, considering what she could do to screw with Sky without really getting into trouble…


	16. Special Delivery (With One Shipped)

She licked her lips. This had become a constant unconscious action for Shantae now that she had hit the tail-end of her pregnancy. The last trimester had kicked in, with a emphasis on kicking. The little sucker that would be named Nina decided to announce her coming by punting her own mother in the stomach once every day, but at a random time. She would do it at five in the morning, prompting a early wake-up call. The next day the kick would come around lunchtime. And with Shantae expecting a kick the following day, Nina would skip that day entirely…but follow up the next day with a nice sharp kick during dinner time.

And that lead into the other problem. The unusual cravings came in, and came in harder than ever before. Shantae used to merely chuckle whenever she came across something that parodied pregnancy cravings, now whenever she saw something like that she thought: "Man, peanut-butter with chocolate syrup and strawberries would actually be really great!"

As she was digging out chunks of peanut-butter to drop into the bowl, someone knocked on her door. Not a familiar knock, just a informal two beat knock. Shantae dropped her spoon and went towards the door. She opened it to the sight of a scantily-clad mail-lady (Or given how people dress in Sequin Land, just a normal mail-lady.) holding a brown paper package with a white envelope tied down to the package with string. "Package for you." The lady declared.

"From whom?" Shantae asked as she held her arms out.

"From that fishmonger, Ricky Barrow." The mail-lady told. "He had this sent from quite a long while away. I miss him, he had such good fish!" The mail-lady let out a heavenly sigh.

Shantae grunted and took the package, without saying a thank you or even providing a tip to the mail-lady. Shantae stormed over to the coffee table and placed the package down. She pulled the letter out and opened it. As expected, Risky addressed the letter for Shantae.

"It's been a while. I believe it's nearly time for Nina? In the package contains somethings to make raising the kid a bit easier. Well, it's money. All money. Worth about fifty thousand gems. Get the best quality baby stuff. Auto-changing diapers are all the rage!"

Love: Your favorite person in the world.

Shantae's eyes went wide. She tore into the package, exposing the cardboard box and opening it. Inside were a collection of gems, but they were dirty and looked to have been collected from the bottom of a ocean. Shantae reached in and took in two handfuls of gems, letting them rain out of her hands and back into the box. Just 50K? It looked to be way more than that!

…or less. Depending if Risky was feeling good the day she sent the money out.

Shantae's first thoughts were how to spend the money. Sure, she could get baby supplies, but there were other things she could get. Not to sound selfish or anything, but she's carrying and caring for this child on her own. One of those foot massage machines, perhaps a nice outfit for her post-baby body, some new furniture like a new chair? There should be plenty of money to get started on Nina's care with plenty of left over for Shantae's own things. Risky probably realized that and sent this much money…

…this possibly illegal money. Risky is a pirate after all. All the gems in the box could be pirate booty raided from people who made those gems doing honest work. Shantae could be working as Risky's holding safe while the heat is on her for her pirating activities. And Risky definitely…risked a lot shipping money like this for miles across the oceans to get it here.

Shantae was wrong about the Ricky Barrows, people WERE fooled by it!

The half genie would have called Sky over and discussed it, but she knew that Sky would have immediately asked to hand the money over. And Rottytops would argue the direct opposite; keep the money and spend it like the package is bottomless. Mimic would side with Sky given his personal experience with Risky and Bolo would side with Rottytops given his personal experience with Risky.

…maybe she needed new friends?

Shantae picked up the package, closed the flaps, and looked around for a good hiding place. Something out of sight and where super observant Sky wouldn't think of looking. Under the bed is too obvious…plus the box is too big to fit under the bedframe. As such, it wouldn't fit in any of the cabinets or anywhere in the kitchen. And she didn't have a pillow to hide it behind. It felt like Risky chose this package size on purpose…

The couch! Scoot it a bit forward, hide the package behind it, and then scoot the couch as far back as possible! Even in her heavy state, Shantae still had the mobility to move the couch up just enough to stash her box of money behind it and move it back in place. Unless Sky kept a exact memory of where everything laid, then she wouldn't notice unless Shantae made a reference to it or something comedic went down that revealed the location of the box.

Shantae took a deep breath. Man, she would really need a wheelchair to get around during the last month of this. And to think, it's really going to be over soon. Well, the pregnancy part anyway. The raising of what it is certain to be a baby brat is the next step.

Right now, she had a training session at the dance hall and following that, a lunch date with Mimic. Focus on one step at a time…and don't act suspicious if people start asking about the package she received…


	17. A Hungry Plan

The sound of explosions were getting closer. Risky sucked in air through gritted teeth as she prepared to make a heated retreat, grabbing everything she could.

Fifteen seconds away. Risky barked the retreat order to the Tinkerbats, still trying to make a attempt to push the enemy back. They dropped the guns and sabers as they ran back to the ship with their hands up in the air. Risky let out a long snarl noticing all the expensive equipment just left to rust in the mud. As if this battle already became a giant lost!

Ten seconds now. Risky grunted as she tried to stuff in all the stolen royal treasure into her rucksack. In order to get both the scepter and the crown in, she had to dig in and thrown out all the antique coins out to join the weapons in the mud. This seemed to be the perfect raid. A coin collector con at the Caramel Castle? Two birds with one stone…but after this? It felt like she should have brought _four _stones.

Now five seconds away. Risky threw the rucksack on and gave a quick forlorn look at the fallen treasures before making a frantic run to the boat. Hopefully she would have a chance to come back, enact her revenge against the surprisingly strong militia and rob the country blind.

She now had to run against the rain of bombs while having a uneven bag of treasure bounce against her back. Risky grunted and groaned the whole way back to the ship. At least the militia haven't gained the idea to attack her ship to prevent her from escaping. The Tinkerbats were frantically finishing up setting the ship ready to sail, just throwing cargo aboard without care as to how fragile the cargo is. Risky did a mighty leap, crashed on board on her stomach and cried out, "SHIP OUT! ANY MAN LEFT BEHIND STAYS BEHIND!"

A Tinkerbat smashed it's fist into the rocket booster button and the ship shot forward, tearing up the bay behind it. Two Tinkerbats preparing to board got incinerated by the boosters and another waved like mad for the ship to turn around and come back for him. Risky slowly pushed herself back up to her feet as she could still hear the explosions ringing in her ears. She got herself over to the bow to the ship, looking back to Caramel Land. The militia continued to give chase until they reached the shore and tried to snipe her from there.

Well, THAT went well.

Risky didn't stop giving out orders until they completely left the surrounding waters of Caramel Land and were into the open ocean. Risky let out a long and tired groan as she fell onto the wet deck. At least she got something out of this. Not as much as she wanted and she would have to go and buy everything that was lost…but still, she managed to run away with a very nice crown.

She pulled it out and looked it over, letting out a tiring yet satisfying sigh. At least she got this. She had no plans on selling this at all. This is her crown for her pirate kingdom…and Nina's. That's how she's going to introduce Nina to the world of pirating; flash a shiny crown in her face and tell her that one day, is will be all hers. Little kids love shiny things right?

She gathered energy to get back up and return to her captain's quarters with her loot. Risky neatly put the crown in the special case she got specifically for this specific item and locked the door to the case before dumping all of the other treasure into her 'sell' chest. She reached into her bra and yanked out a ancient land deed that she managed to hide before the militia came on her.

Speaking of clothes, they were gone. While she avoided taking take major damage to her body, her clothes were all stained with soot, mud and the blood of the soldiers she had to cut down to escape. As she shifted her hips to the side to see if she had damage to her backquarters, her pants slid down her legs into a pile around her feet.

Sighing to herself, Risky kicked off the tattered remains of her pants and tore off the rest of her outfit before hopping into bed buck-naked. Hot enough nday for her to do so.

As she allowed to turn in early for the day, Risky thought of Shantae. To any doctor, her thoughts about the half-genie were feverish to the point of insane obsession. Not a single rest, even a short nap, could last without a perverse dream about Shantae. Dreams about Shantae obeying every order given to her, Shantae happily taking her clothes off...and letting her master Risky do whatever she wanted…

Risky knew what a pathetic degenerate she is. She could just find someone to pay off for a good time in nearly any port…but it wouldn't be the same. Yes, she only did it once with Shantae…and they did it on the stone floor of the Scuttle Town port next to a mossy stone wall…but that night meant so much to her. Anyone else, even if they were cosplayed and following off a script to become Shantae…it wouldn't be Shantae. Just some random skank pretending to be the real thing.

Risky grounded teeth against teeth in anger. She NEEDED Shantae. She WANTED Shantae. Shantae BELONGS TO HER.

SHE WILL TAKE HER.

Risky jumped out of bed and was about to head out to the deck completely naked before her mind kicked into gear and reminded her of what she saw the last time she visited Sequin Land. A whole bunch of defenses had been erected just for her. Defenses that were designed just for little old me.

Plus, most of her Tinkerbats and their equipment had been seriously damaged or destroyed back there in Caramel Land. Risky didn't have a full deck to play with. Hell, just getting the package of money from the last raid to her cost her arm and a leg. And it's doubtful that Shantae will be so kind to open a backdoor for her to sneak in through.

Still. Risky threw her balled-up hands down. Still! Shantae will be hers! Even if she had to hold off for a while to properly prepare for this in-particular raid…she WILL do this. Even she must become a menace on the level of the Pirate Master to achieve this mission, she will do it. A full-on blitzkrieg on one side of Scuttle Town to draw the defenders while she leads four Tinkerbats in the fastest small boat to abscond away with Shantae. Even better yet…in the time needed to properly plan, Shantae will give birth to Nina. The arrival of the baby will definitely get people to lower their guards.

As the plan came together in her head, Risky let out a rather demented sounding laugh. Her skin crawled from just the sound alone. This whole thing made her feel like pretty horrible…but another part of her reassured her. It's okay…that part gently whispered to her…Shantae is yours…she's carrying her child after all…

…go and take her.


	18. Shop And Shop

The siren call of the gems played out to Shantae, even when she were in town. It distracted her from talking with friends, it made her miss a few steps while she danced, and she almost ended up paying twice as usual for food today as she almost allowed the merchant to play her. She didn't think that bag of gems would be so distracting…but she nearly fell into the ocean if Sky weren't there to yank her back up.

The gems presented a opportunity. A opportunity to live really well. Move into town and let Mimic have the lighthouse back. Get a nice swank and large apartment; one where Nina could roam around safely and where Shantae could practice some more extreme dance moves and transformations. Of course, the rent would be pretty high along with buying the place, filling it up with furniture, buying the necessities for Nina…and highly doubtful the town would allow for a hero's discount…

But she needed to buy something. Anything! Well. Not anything. Something expensive. She had fifty thousand gems on her. In order to cure this itch, Shantae had to buy something worth at least five thousand gems. A good amount, right? If someone asks where she got that much money, she could just say it's her savings from all the adventures she went on. But what could she buy? What's worth five thousand in town?

Shantae needed the money first. So she went home and made sure to look around first before going inside. Didn't want anyone to see her going inside her house and then coming out with a big bag of gems. Shantae licked her lips as she entered the lighthouse. She quickly rushed over to the hiding place and moved the couch forward. Shantae reached into the box and dug out ten big gems that gave her exactly her amount she wanted.

Storing them all into her handbag, she left the house…and ran into something soft, but kinda moldly.

"Woah there, that's for Sky only." Rottytops grunted out. "And I just reattached that."

"Sorry sorry!" Shantae profusely apologized. "I didn't see you there…and don't recall if we had anything going on today…"

"Nah, just dropping by to say hi." Rottytops breathed out as she moved her left breast to be back in place. It sagged a bit more than usual. "Man, I hate using a staplegun, but I might have to for this sucker."

"Sky going in a bit rough?" Shantae asked with a giggle.

"Yeah, she's a biter, though she's more like a pecker…" Rottytops started before she buttoned her lip. "Hey…" Before she put on her best pouty face to address Shantae's little joke, she noticed Shantae's bag. "Huh. Don't recall seeing you having that bag when you went inside."

"You stalking me?" Shantae raised a eyebrow and hid the bag with her arm.

"Uhh…" Rottytops whistled and shuffled backward. "I just saw you going into the house. I was going to call out to you but I figured I would try and spook 'ya. I didn't expect you would barrel out of the house like you got caught in a explosion." She tilted her head to sneak a angle on the bag. "So, whatcha hiding?" She asked with a giggle.

"Just my savings." Shantae went with her excuse. "Going to buy something nice before I have to push Nina out." She skirted around Rottytops. "And I would like to do this alone…without you or Sky feeding suggestions please."

"Oh, what?" Rottytops laughed out. "That's it? I thought you killed someone and were taking their head out somewhere far off to bury it."

"Rotty!" Shantae gasped out. "That's horrible!"

"Pfft!" Rottytops waved her hand down. "Nah, you're too nice for that. I've got to go and collect some seeds for Sky. She's planning on starting a garden…just so she can get her mother off her back. That, and to attract some special birds." Rottytops shrugged. "I don't really understand it. But hey! She's offering a kiss if I go out and get a bag full of the stuff." She showed off her small burlap sack. "So hey! You mind if I take a break in your place after I get done?"

"Sure, just don't make a mess." Shantae shrugged as she walked away. "I best getting going, before my pains kick in." She pointed towards today before waving good-bye. Rottytops waved in return as she went off in her own direction. Once Rottytops had gone around the lighthouse, Shantae could let out a deep breath. Great, Rottytops had already seen the bag and Shantae already used up her only excuse. Things are going to be hard to explain away if Rottytops sees the bag again and if Sky is with her, there will be a investigation and a whole lot of questions Shantae wouldn't be able to answer without giving away too much information.

Putting aside those thoughts, Shantae went into town. What could she get for five thousand gems? Is this a matter of need or want? Did she need anything? At least the barrage of questions took her mind off worrying about the scandalous gems. Her eyes darted from side to side as she examined the various shop signs. A new comforter for her bed? Some sort of expensive food to treat herself? A new dress with gems (The non-monetary ones) sewed in? …something…naughty?

Shantae bit her lip as she stared at the shady shack advertising the triple X stuff. It might have been the weird hormones flowing in her system, it might have been her lack of sex life and hearing Rottytops talk about it all the time….but she wanted to go inside.

But imagine the scandal! Local guardian browses sex shop! Oh how bad the scandal would be! She might be forced to leave town in shame!

…but no one is looking. She just ended up here by accident. And the place IS known to keep secrets. With a weird grin, she went into the shop.

The clerk at the desk didn't say anything to her when she entered the shop. Shantae wasn't interested in the toys, she didn't feel THAT desperate…yet. Not into bondage either, so that aisle got skipped. Without much choice, Shantae tackled the sexy outfit aisle. Even to someone with a naughty side, these outfits would make them blush. Just some strips of fabric just placed randomly around. They wouldn't cover anything what so ever! And some of them weren't that sexy…

Shantae's eyes darted over to a package on the penultimate row, 4th column. A silk strip ribbon that would tightly wrap around the body. It would cover her naughty bits, but barely. Out of the outfits on the rack, this one was the only one that Shantae had any interest in. She would have to wait for Nina to be born before she could wear it, but it's not like she's getting any in the first place. And it actually had a good price to it, only three hundred gems. And really? It's the only thing in the shop Shantae had any interest in. She quickly removed one item off the rack and slapped it down on the counter.

"Would you prefer our official bag," Started the sales clerk as Shantae dug out the necessary gems. "Or our discreet bag?" The clerk held up two bags. The official bag has the official logo of the store on it and the discreet one is just a white bag like you would find in a local grocery store. Not wanting to draw any attention to this, Shantae picked the discreet bag, paid for the item, and went on her way.

There were plenty of other stores she could browse. She still had plenty of energy left in her. The only problem being that people would want to see the contents of the white bag and she couldn't drop it off at home while Rottytops is still nearby. Shantae did feel some hunger pangs and decided to get something nice and expensive. And the rest of her day consisted of eating and shopping…something she liked doing…something she would like to do again…and again…


	19. Night Terrors

Something came over her. Something she had no experience in. Shantae didn't know how to fix this problem. And because she's still with child, she didn't know what sort of procedure would be safe for her and the baby. She knew how it started but right now she didn't have access to someone that could help her, nor did she have the energy to go out and see help. All she could was wait it out the best she could.

She had never suffered a lack of sleep. Normally, falling into bed and closing his eyes would be enough to turn in for the night. But now, she would twist in her covers and turn all over in her bed. Closing her eyes now just meant closing her eyes. And she tried counting sheep, mermaids, mer-sheeps, whatever! She actually got as high as two-hundred-fifty and still nothing! When she did get to sleep, she didn't know about it nor did feel anything. She woke up each morning not feeling like she even went to bed in the first place. Shantae usually would get up at eight to start her day. But now she needed to lay in bed 'til ten just to have the energy to get up.

Was it the money? It did lay hidden right in front of her. It had been weighting heavily on her mind for some time. But not really, not as much as before. She had been using it sparingly to get a mix of the necessaries and some fun things. At this point, she didn't have much to worry about. The baby? Yeah, big and imposing and ready to burst. She had to sleep on her side or on her back, and her back smarted so that stopped being a choice. And she never really got used to sleeping on her sides. But the baby isn't giving out much pain as she used to. It made a little bit hard to move sure, but not in bed…outside of short-sheeting herself.

Risky? No. Risky has been quiet for quiet some time. Shantae hadn't put much thought into her…what would be a good word for Risky? Would-be mate? Husband, wife? Rival? She couldn't find any words proper enough to describe it. That wouldn't cause her to lose any sleep.

So what could cause her to lose so much sleep…

...it hit her.

All of this. All of this thinking kept her up. All this worrying and questioning just served to keep her up. And she couldn't stop thinking…

Finally, Shantae inched out of her covers and onto her feet. Shaking her head slightly, she gingerly made her way across the room and to her kitchen to grab a clean glass and fill it with some cool water. Realizing she was no closer to going to sleep; she turned on a lamp, grabbed a book, and sat down at her dinner table to read the early morning away. She had picked up a book she got from Relic about…Relics. Should bore her to sleep.

But her mind continued to wander back to her thoughts. About Nina, Risky, the money…everything really. Risky will try something eventually...probably a kidnapping attempt. For once, Shantae felt that Sky's overprotective nature actually served a purpose. Risky could raise a armada to storm Sequin Land and take her wife.

But worriment came over her. Just because Sky and the people of Scuttle Town had built a small standing army…doesn't mean they couldn't stand up to Risky. The self-proclaimed queen of pirates had a army of pirates and a floating tank. The people of Scuttle Town had muskets, a few magic spells, and a giant bird. It might buy a few minutes…then again, she used to take Risky on with own spells, her magic, her transformations, and her hair! Maybe they did have a chance.

And now she focus on her book. She closed it, downed her glass of water and went back to bed. No way she could do one or another now. Her only hope and sadly only chance is to now just try her hardest to get some sleep. Wrapped up tightly in the covers, lay in the cool center of her pillow, close her eyes and dream…off…

What…could she…

Lilac Fields, minus the bomb-throwing Scarecrows. Smelled of the namesake rather of gunpowder and burning grass. Shantae, with her good old body once more, running down the middle of the field, in between the towering lilacs. But she didn't run alone as she held hands with a tiny Nina. She had Shantae's long and flowing purple hair with a darker tan of Risky's skin. As many expected she would look like. To her left is Sky and Rottytops on a picnic blanket and it looks like Sky is pregnant? Interesting. And Shantae is holding another hand…

As she looked to her left, she saw Risky. With a soul-stealing smile. And suddenly, Shantae could smell the burning grass…

She woke with a start. Judging by the faint sunlight peeking through the open window, she had gotten only four hours of sleep. She groaned and turned over in her bed so she could burry her head in the pillow. With her body starting to feel comfortable, she would stay in bed for then next few hours in the hopes of just waiting out the early morning until she actually needed to do something.

Just what compelled her to imagine a fantasy like that?


	20. A Baby Shower

"Is it time?"

"No."

"You sure? It looks ready to…pop!"

"It's not going to pop. I got another month to go."

"You sure?"

Shantae looked down at her enlarged stomach area. At this point, her belly button stuck out and her belly hid her feet. She looked up back towards Rottytops and stated. "Pretty sure."

Rottytops let out a happy little giggle before patting Shantae on the back. She then lead her friend into the baby shower being held in the town hall. Shantae felt pretty pleased that the people were Scuttle Town were celebrating her, but annoyed that it's for her baby and not for saving the town. This is the first party they held for her honor and it is for this puke-inducing, pee-pouring, hormone-rising, crazy hunger paining baby?

Speaking of hunger, she practically stampeded over to the concessions table and grabbed a green apple slice and dipped into a bowl of queso.

"I'm never getting pregnant." Sky commented on as she watched Shantae repeated her process of taking various other handfoods and dipping them into the bowl of queso.

"Well, I can't." Rottytops talked as placed a small peck on Sky's cheeks. "I'm dead after all." She looked away with a curious smile. "I'm pretty sure my equipment would fall off…"

"Enough." Sky playfully pushed Rottytops away. "And how would we even have a kid?"

"The same way Shantae and Risky did it?" Rottytops pointed towards the walking balloon that is the town's half-genie defender, who just stolen a bowl of tortilla chips…and was walking over to the chocolate fountain. "I've been pestering Shantae about she and Risky pulled it off…and she's going to tell me one day."

"And you want to be the father I'm guessing?" Sky sighed as she stirred her drink while motioning her eyes towards a guard to go and keep Shantae from devouring the entire bar. "I can imagine there's a way for you to do that…"

"Oh yeah." Rottytops nodded. "Plenty of dark magic spells for me to use to further our relationship…" She then hopped behind Sky so she could lay a hand on Sky's rump and play with it. Sky tensed up and clenched her teeth, but let Rottytops have her fun as she toyed with her bubbly ass. At one point, she just accepted that Rotty was going to do her thing and it's better to let it go on. Afterwards, Risky would be more accepting of punishment.

…and honestly, Rotty did have a unusual touch about her. A cool if slippery touch.

"Do you want to say a few words?" The mayor walked up to Shantae and pointed to a podium with a microphone.

"Uh, sure." Shantae let out a breath before walking over to the podium. She rapped on the microphone and out came some reverb, causing some of the elderly in the audience to wince and fall to the ground while holding her heads like that was going to pop. "Sorry." Shantae squeaked out. She cleared her throat…away from the mic…before properly speaking: "Thank you for everything, everyone!" She chimed out loud before the crowd cheered out. "I hope that everyone is having a good time!"

"You got booze!" Bolo shouted from the back. "Why is there booze at a party for a pregnant woman?"

Shantae didn't have a answer, but a quick look over to her good zombie friend and it came clear. Rottytops looked over to the side. The one good thing about being undead is that any sort of tell could be removed. Twitching left eye? Find a eyeball that has the same size and same color. Shaking her hands for a second? Tighter stitches. Had a habit of looking off and whistling? Well, you had to go and see a doctor to fix up your brain as that's mental behavior rather than a physical quirk tied to mental behavior. Seems like Rottytops paid good money as she just looked over to the side at the food table.

"Now I don't know why you're holding this a month early…" Shantae said while patting her stomach. "…but maybe we could this a month from now?" Shantae put on a cheesy smile to punch up her delivery of that half-assed joke, gardening a few chuckles from a few of the folk. "Thank you for everything, again!" She repeated before steeping down with a small blush on her face. "I'm not a fan of public speaking." She admitted to Sky.

"I figured." Sky shook her head.

The rest of the party went like any other party. People talking, eating, drinking, farting in a private corner…Shantae wondered why Bolo even bothered. But Shantae had to go home early, as her energy had ran out. At least she could take the gifts home, open them up, and indiscriminately comment on them. Sky easily lowered Shantae into her chair while Bolo and Sky dropped the gifts off into a corner.

"Let's start with the mayor's gift." Shantae asked. Sky reached for the package with the most expensive wrapping paper on it and handed it to her friend. The wrapping had little genie lamps on it! But despite the impressive looking cover, under it laid a shoebox with…shoes. Purple slippers. Shantae took one look at the shoes and stated: "These won't fit me, pregnant or not pregnant."

"Can I have them?" Rottytops asked. "They look nice. And I have been meaning to get smaller feet for a while…"

"She thinks that having smaller feet will make her quieter while moving." Sky shook her head. "But I'm pretty sure those shoes are for someone in elementary…I believe that mayor's granddaughter just passed the fifth grade."

"Hey, Bolo, what did you get me?" Shantae asked, while turning towards said friend.

"Kid's shoes." Bolo simply stated. Everyone looked at him with annoyed looks. "Just kidding. Some of that lotus flower lotion you mentioned some time ago." Shantae flashed him a quick smile before tearing open the package and retrieving the bottle. Shantae gave a quick thanks before going into the next gift; going by the fact the wrapping paper had previously used and taped back together, it's Rottytops.

"A collar and chain." Shantae blankly stated as she held up said item.

"Yeah, it's Risky Boots' kid after all." Rottytops nodded. "You're going to need to keep it on a leash."

"Right." Shantae put the collar down before turning towards Sky. "So, what did you get me?"

"I considered giving you a bird as a pet…" Sky started. "But given that you're taking care of a baby…and your past record with handling birds…I opted to give you something that you could actually use." And inside of the cartoon bird-wrapped package laid a thick book titled 'How To Be A Parent Without Really Trying'.

"Oh, thank you!" Shantae got up, with some difficulty, and went over to hug Sky.

"You sure you're not going to drop Nina right now?" Rottytops turned her head. "Or is it going to get bigger?"

"I have another month." Shantae repeated.

"Regardless, we have everything ready once it's time." Sky explained. "We have a cart with all of the necessary supplies nearby."

"I really couldn't ask for better friends." Shantae sighed, returning to her seat. She remained still for a bit before adding, "You're going to have to give me the rest of the presents. I can't move."

"You sure you're not ready to drop?"

"Oh, enough!"


	21. Almost There (3 Days To Go)

Maybe it would pop out.

Shantae took stock of her new room. White all over. Real simple bed with drab colors. A cabinet of medicine on her right. A wardrobe of patient gowns on her left. A window in front showing off the beach in front of the hospital. She wished she could join the other patients on the beach. Not that she had a choice, little Nina decided to take control of all of Shantae's mobility. Well, she could move around…but not in any timely or healthy manner. Her legs felt disconnected from her body. It didn't feel like they were asleep or she would be in a lot more pain. In a sense, there were there and they weren't.

She was bored.

With the last few days before Nina would FINALLY come out, Shantae had been moved to the hospital as she really couldn't move around her house anymore and Sky really wanted to place her friend in a safe place. Outside her door laid two guards in waiting. There didn't need to be a need for security! Risky wasn't going to attack this close to her child's day of birth!

Shantae turned to the left the best she could, given her current position and lack of mobility. God, being pregnant sucks. She's never doing it again, even if the Pirate Master brought in a entire armada and made the same offer that Risky did. She wanted to be comfortable, but this bed isn't built to be a luxury. It's built to work.

Now having a moment of lucidity, Shantae considered…what's next? After spending nearly a year with a tenant that ate and drank everything and didn't pay rent, it's going to be awkward to move around now she had a regular body again. Definitely no adventuring until she regained full control of muscles. And even then, she would need to take care of Nina…and it's safe to say that making Rottytops a babysitter is a accident waiting to happen.

Shantae gazed forward the best she could. Man, her baby bump could blot out the sun! And technically it was doing just that by preventing her from seeing out the window. Man…to be outside, to roam free, to RUN.

"Hey Nina." Shantae cooed, giving her belly a soft pat. "I don't want to rush you, but could you…hurry up? Mama is getting tired."

No response. What would Nina's first words be anyway? Something generic like 'mama', something unique like 'Shantae', or something weird like 'boobs?'

Shantae didn't feel hungry or really thirsty, so no use calling a nurse to deliver something. She felt fairly awake that her eyes would leap open if she tried to close them. And she had read everything she could get her hands on, including the book Sky got her for the shower and even a few of the hospital's pamphlets to offset her boredom.

Sky would be too busy overseeing the construction of more defenses (Just in case Sky repeated over and over) and Rottytops had made a trip to visit her family and bring them in town for the birthing. Bolo…at this stage in the pregnancy, it was safer to have him far away.

Bored, alone, and little options to fix those problems.

"Nina?" Shantae once more asked her big belly. "What do you want to do? A dancer? A pirate? A adventurer? A guard? There's so many things for you to do…"

She let out a tiny sigh while keeping a smile on her face.. "I'm worried. I'm worried that you'll grow up to be something…bad. Something that everyone would end up regretting, even Risky. And I want you to grow up to be happy and successful in whatever you do." Shantae started to tear up a bit but continued. "That's all I want from you. I guess that's all what a parent wants from their child."

Shantae took a second to let the air settle. "That, and to do chores for them." She let out a small laugh. Mom jokes! She's getting a early start.

"Nina." Shantae snorted a bit and took deep breaths to kill the giggles. "Whatever happens…I will love you no matter what. Even if I can't smile at you…I never stop cherishing you."

Shantae went completely quiet. She's talking to Nina, who hasn't been born yet, who doesn't understand any language, who can't even hear her. The loneliness of being essentiality trapped in a hospital room must be getting to her. Shantae laid back in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Perhaps counting ceiling tiles would be a boring enough activity to knock her out.

But Nina started to kick, ending any chance for some well-deserved rest.


	22. A Slight Problem (2 Days To Go)

Sky peeked into the room. Shantae looked peaceful…as peaceful as someone with a baby about to do a jail break out of her belly. It took a bit, but she finally fell asleep. Sky gently shut the door behind her and took stock of the defenses set up in the hallway. Two guards, a chest-high defense post on both sides so the guards can duck behind in case of gunfire, a alarm system that would broadcast as far as Shantae's lighthouse…

…Sky started to understand why people called her over prepared. But then again, Risky had a entire armada and the only person who stood a chance against her is pregnant, so really, this is normal. Normal according to her anyway.

With a feeling of relief that her friend is safe and sound, Sky returned to the lobby and retrieved Rottytops, digging her head into a ancient magazine.

"Time to go?" Rottytops asked.

"Yeah, it's time for this day to come to a end." Sky yawned. "Straight home for me."

The two walked out of the hospital together to turn in for the night. Rottytops practically jumped out of the doors, carrying Sky out in hand.

"Woah, slow down!" Sky cried out.

"Never!" Rottytops giggled as she dragged Sky back home. Sky could have easily broken free by detaching Rottytops' hand, but she opted not to. For some reason, she didn't want to. Normally, she would just rip Rottyhands' hand off and toss it back to her…but not tonight. She just let Rottytops take her home, through the front door, past her parents and up to her bedroom.

"As expected, it smells like a birdhouse." Rottytops took a deep breath of molted feathers and white poop. "At what age did you get used to the smell?"

"…what smell?" Sky whispered, honestly confused.

"It's a good thing my nose can do this." Rottytops squeezed her nose hard, presumably shutting off her olfactory senses. "And I can speak like a normal person still!" She held up her hands, expecting praise. Sky shook her head with a sad look before sitting down onto her bed.

"Are you expecting something?" Sky asked.

"Sex?" Rottytops honestly asked with a Cheshire Cat grin.

Sky's first and only response is to kick a shoe off and aim it right at Rottytops. Critical hit! Rottytops fell over, but she still giggled. She expected that to happen. Sky sighed as she rolled onto her back. "Thanks for escorting me home, Rotty. You may go."

"Ah, I'm not your servant!" Rottytops decried as she shot straight up to her feet.

"You're overstaying your welcome." Sky put on a forceful voice.

"C'mon." Rottytops blew a kiss towards Sky. "I know you want this…"

"Yes." Sky muttered under her breath. She stated the next part with a audile voice: "I want to get naked with a girl who's literally rotten…it's in her name." She turned over. "Please. I want to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a busy day…Shantae is going through some practice for the birth…" Sky got caught off as she felt something rub against her back.

"Warm…"

Sky went quiet. She was hoping that her intense anger would silently warn Rottytops to GTFO, but Rottytops had no intention of leaving. Sky let this last a few seconds before rolling into Rotty and knocking her over and onto the floor. "The hell is wrong with you?" Sky asked, actually getting herself to face the stunned Rottytops. "Learn this word. No. I don't want to share a bed with you."

"Aw." Rottytops let out a disappointed sigh. "I thought…"

"You don't think." Sky snorted out of her nose. "Ever." Sky sighed as she reached for her covers. "Get out. Consider our date on Tuesday cancelled." She hoped that would be end of that matter and she could get some sleep…but she would know better.

Rottytops childishly stomped her foot. "Come on! We're been going out for months! When are we going to go to the next step?"

"What next step?" Sky didn't even bother to up and face Rottytops. "I admit, we had fun and all, but we can't go further. I live and breath, and you don't. I prefer living above ground you prefer living under it. And so on and so forth." She rolled her hand around up in the air. "We just don't work together. We could do fun things together…but you and I…"

"Come on!" Rottytops repeated.

"And you're a pervert." Sky groaned. "A really disgusting one."

"I'll stop!" Rottytops clasped her hands together, her voice actually betraying some fear. "Honestly! I won't grope you anymore, cut out the innuendos…"

"You won't." Sky turned over. "Go. Away. I want to sleep."

And, in a rare moment, Rottytops obeyed. She went eerily quiet and hung her head low. Rottytops shuffled out of the room and down the stairs. Sky let out a sigh of relief as she could finally get some proper sleep.

But something kept her up. Not doubts about her relationship with the zombie girl, no regrets about telling Rottytops to back down, no worries about the future…the distraction came from a outside source.

Apparently, Rottytops located a boombox and a mixtape of various love songs. Rottytops had now placed herself right outside and underneath her window and started to blast some warped version of some old love song. Apparently, she found these items buried in a trashcan nearby. Either that or she had placed these two things nearby in advance.

"Rottytops." Sky lowly growled in her throat. "I need. My. Sleep."

Of course, Rottytops couldn't hear such mumbles from that distance, but she turn up the music to get her point across. Sky had to fold the pillow to cover her ears to drown out the song that had been drowned before. The song continued to play and play…and play. Sky now find herself despising the song even more than before. In fact, if she heard the song again, she would destroy it. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SONG.

"Okay." Sky moaned as she finally caved and jumped out of bed. She opened her window but didn't shout anything towards her zombie girlfriend. Instead, she trailed over to her drawer and grabbed the flower vase that waited on top. She gave to Rottytops… by dropping it right on top of the zombie's head. It created a humorous scene as Rottytops let out a yelp, threw the boombox up into the air, where it fell back down onto Rottytops' already dented head. Much to Sky's enjoyment, the boombox shattered and died upon contact with the zombie's squishy head. Rottytops remained standing however, if dazed.

"Don't bug me." Sky shouted. "I'll allow you to visit Shantae and Nina, but if you annoy me…" She shook her hand. Rottytops regained enough sense to bow and run off into the night.

Finally. Sky let out a frustrated but satisfying groan as she once more flopped into bed. Now she could undress down into her underwear and dive under the covers so she could finally, finally get some well-earned rest. Dug her head into the mangled pillow, scooted around to find the right mixture of comfort and chill, and closed her eyes.

And remained that way the entire night. A constant shuffle throughout the entire run of the covers, head-bopping on every inch of the pillow on both back and front sides to find a good cold spot, and the various covers were hired and fired over and over as she tried to find the right combination.

Okay.

She might actually possess some feelings towards the zombie lady.

And why? The two were complete opposites of each other. Sky: the serious organized do-gooder. Rottytops: the silly perverse ne'er-do-well. And that's ignoring the fact that the former is alive and the latter is of the undead. Things wouldn't be able to work out between the two of them…after all…look at how Shantae and Risky did things. They would never get together.

But then again. Sky couldn't convince herself to stop. She just had to continue. Shantae made a decision on her own to have Risky's child to protect Sequin Land, a decision that Sky spent every single day since learning about it hating the decision. Calling it a long-distance relationship is a stupid term. And Rottytops had made it clear she wanted to have her own family. The constant talk of sex and making babies…her motivation is stupidly pure, but pure.

Sky needed to stick her guns. The date is cancelled and Rottytops is on warning.

But there are second chances…


	23. Conjugal Visit (1 Day To Go)

Risky lived up to her namesake by doing this. This could be her undoing. All those years of pillaging, going up against various militaries, rival pirates, monsters, genies…and this could honestly be the end for her. And its so simple. It's her asking for information on Shantae. Her contact could just turn her in for the huge bounty or he'll would be caught by the hyper paranoid Sky and forced to reveal Risky's current location.

Which would be Sequin Land.

Risky left her ship hidden two miles off from the shore, so there would be a small chance of her being able to take the rowboat back to the ship if she were caught. She put on a disguise of a thick and tattered farmer cloak with matching hat. She needed to hide her distinct purple hair and her faded purple skin after all. Risky's only hope is that her outfit doesn't attract anyone who had seen any movie ever and realize that's it's a disguise.

She rapped a finger against the tavern's table. Service has never been slower. It seemed that the people of Sequin Land were awaiting the news of their guardian genie to give birth. Risky had come just in time, but she needed exact information; how long til the birth, where she is, what room…hopefully the person she hired could remain discreet and return soon.

Other than that, she did want her drink to arrive.

At least both her wishes arrived at the same time. Made her jump; either the server or the informant could have accidently given her away. "Okay, it's real simple." The informant started as soon as the server left the table. "She's at the beachside hospital. Room 104. There are two guards on duty at all times, but they don't check every nurse every single time."

"Then I have my way in." Risky sniffed. "As for when the birth's about to happen?"

"Tomorrow." The informant tapped a finger on the table to make his point. "Yeah. Tomorrow." He flashed a greedy smile. "Now, the rest of my payment?"

Risky didn't waste time with this cretin. She tossed the prepared bag of money at him and jumped up. She took one last swing of her drink before making a beeline towards the exit, pushing her way through anyone that got in her way. While she didn't know where exactly the hospital is, she needed to get plan in action immediately.

It thankfully didn't take her long to find it. All she had to do to locate the beachside hospital is to follow the side of the beach! A direct approach by walking into the hospital wouldn't work, so Risky went around to the back to find the back door. Wasting no time, Risky took a quick look around first before lockpicking the door. She then cautiously entered, making sure to keep a eye out for anyone who decided to hang around the back entrance. A clear coast gave Risky haste to rush inside and look for a laundry bin to nab a uniform.

Once she picked out a outfit, she tore off her former disguise. Risky also picked out a hat and a mask to help complete the nurse disguise. She tossed her farmer outfit into a laundry bag and followed the signs to the place's furnace. Feeling a bit paranoid and incredibly anxious, she quickly tossed the bag into the fire and ran out.

Seemed that everyone in the hospital was getting ready for the big event. The chaos made it easy for Risky to make her way to Room 104. She did keep her head down to prevent her from being called out by some doctor to go off and do something she didn't know how to. Risky shoved her way through the crowds of doctors, nurses, patients, and drunks until she finally made it to the right hallway.

The contact was right: two guards armed with spears were prancing about the hallway, center to room 104. Risky could probably take them…but she's here to witness her daughter's birth. Starting trouble would only cause trouble she couldn't afford right now. The hand she needed to play is a cool and subtle one.

But she needed a sneak peek. Shantae would ultimately recognize her, so Risky waited for the update for Shantae to go asleep. Once she saw the on-duty nurse whisper to the guards to be quiet, Risky made her move. Risky picked up a fresh pillow from the closet and quietly walked towards Shantae's room. She acted like someone meek and afraid of the guards as she went past them and into Shantae's room.

There she is. Quietly sleeping away the last day of being pregnant. Risky had to control her from just grabbing Shantae and jumping out of the window with her. Risky took careful steps towards her hopeful future wife with the pillow in hand. Hopefully no one would come in here and assume that she came to here to smother Shantae.

Risky eased the pillow from under Shantae, gently lifting the half-genie's head up before sliding in the new pillow. Risky's spine tingled from the sensation of touching Shantae's skin. She took some dry gulps as she started to run her fingers through Shantae's iconic hair. So silky and smooth. She obviously continued to take care of her hair long after she got pregnant.

Damn. She REALLY wanted to run off with Shantae. Kill the middle man and take both Shantae and Nina into a life of piracy. Just grab her, jump out of the window and make a mad dash to the boat. A suicide mission to all three of them…but Risky REALLY wanted to do that. It took all of her strength and will to stop herself.

Risky continued to stare at Shantae, taking in the wonderful view. The pirate lady took shallow breaths, resisting the urge to kidnap her pregnant wife. However, a nagging thought entered her mind and reminded her of how she got inside. Switching out pillows shouldn't take too long. Becoming as paranoid as Sky, Risky grabbed the old pillow and made tracks out of the room. She paused at the door and looked back to get one last look at the most beautiful thing in all of the seven seas.

Risky stole away from the hall with the pillow, stuffing it into the nearest hamper. She returned back to the room where she entered from and laid down in a dark corner. No need to leave the hospital just yet. So far, she managed to get around without attention and she only needed to stay one more day.

One more day.

Just one more day.


	24. One Quick Interlude

The Genie realm had been thrown into chaos from the news alone that Shantae had been impregnated by the great enemy of the genies. Now that the birth is coming up, the realm had been once reduced to erratic shambles as the first quarter genie was about to be born.

"Are we ready to take notes on this?" One particular genie asked.

"Yes!" Came a cry from all of the genies with the eyes to see everything.

"Excellent!" The particular genie shouted. "At least this will make for a interesting viewing. Hopefully Shantae will be able to avoid creating this sort of situation in the future. I almost had a heart attack, and I'm pretty sure I don't physically have a heart." The genie waved his hand in front of his chest. "Tell me, is her mother around? I don't know if she wants to see this, but…"

"I am here." A strong but subdued voice came from behind the genie. "While it is a tragedy that my daughter has made such a vulgar deal with our great enemy…I must see the birth of my daughter's child."

"Make you feel old, huh?" The particular genie prodded Shantae's mom.

"I'm going to be a grandmother." Shantae's mom chuckled out. "And I don't feel a day over three thousand."

And so, the stage is set. Shante's friends and her family shall watch the birth while the father of the child hides around the corner to observe…


	25. THE DAY

It had finally come. The big day.

And Shantae was screaming her head off.

"THE PAIN!" She screeched as a nurse had to hold down her arms to prevent them from flailing all about. "WHAT A HORRIBLE IDEA!"

"I've been saying that the entire time." Sky sighed. She, Rotty, and Mimic were in the room to witness the birth. Bolo was also invited…but he might had gotten lost. Sky stood firm and kept a serious look about her as she didn't want to overreact like Rottytops was doing with her silly little dance and panicked expression. Mimic also stood straight but gave off a worried feeling. A natural reaction for a parent witnessing his child becoming a parent.

"PAIN PAIN." Shantae cried out, just to remind people what she was going through.

"Yes, it is." Sky breathed out. She turned to the doctor in charge and asked: "Perhaps she can be given something to keep her calm?"

"We tried." The doctor admitted. "Her body just isn't accepting them. I refuse to give her more, it could do something to the baby."

"SO I'M GOING TO CONTINUE WAIL LIKE A BANSHEE, HUH?" Shantae wailed out, her voice breaking up. "PLEASE STOP IT, I'M GETTING ANNOYED WITH MYSELF!"

"We could try knocking her out…" Rottytops spoke up, mimicking the action by smacking her fist into a palm. All it took to squash the idea was a glare from Sky. Rottytops came to a dead stop and looked off to the side. The whole room went quiet, save for Shantae, who had created her own ocean of sweat on the bed from all of her trashing.

"Mimic, you knew Shantae's mom, right?" Sky whispered. "Did she tell you anything about Shantae's birth. Weird thing to ask for, I know…"

"She called it a miracle." Mimic nodded, also keeping himself down to a whisper. "I wasn't present for it, but I don't know how a quarter genie birth will go down."

"In tears and bloodshed if we stand too close." Rottytops pursed her lips as she got everyone's attention back towards Shantae. She still was shouting in pain, but now she was thrashing around a bit less. "I think it's time we skedaddle…"

With the final preparations ready for the birth, all non-medical personnel were pushed outside into the hall. As Sky walked out into the hall, she bumped into a nurse carrying a few hot towels. Sky got out a quick 'sorry' but the nurse seemed to ignore it as she shoved the door close behind her.

And things went quiet. The rooms were soundproof after all, as nobody wanted to hear all that noise, especially the people who do this 24/7. All Rottytops, Sky and Mimic could do now is to wait and hope for the best.

Rottytops knew that this time isn't the best for rekindling romance, but she figured she had to at least try. She took the seat next to Sky and scooted close. Sky huffed but allowed the zombie girl to sit close. "But don't talk to me." Sky did mutter.

Rottytops obeyed, so the two sat close to each other for a long while, not saying anything or doing anything. Barely moved in their seats even during the wait.

The zombie girl made a move. She slowly placed her hand down on the bench next to Sky. Sky didn't notice at first, but after what seemed to be a minute, she let out a annoyed groan and placed her hand on top of Rottytops. As expected, it felt cold and the skin felt loose.

But the feeling faded and it felt normal. Sky found herself smiling somewhat.

And then…

The door creaked open and a friendly, if incredibly tired nurse poked her head out. The cooing of a baby echoed out into the hall. "She's ready." Stated the nurse as she closed the door gently behind her. The three nearly launched themselves off their benches and into the room, making sure to open the door wide.

And there.

There Shantae laid, quite tired, but quite happy. Cuddled in her arms is Nina, cooing. Shantae had one pinky tired around Nina's finger.

"Hey everyone." Shantae weakly called over to her friends. "Say hi to Nina."

The child possessed most of her mother's features: namely the darker skin and the tuffs of purple hair. It seemed, as of right now, the only thing she inherited from her 'father' is her round-tip ears.

As the friends and family gathered around the new born and new mother, the rest of the staff departed, with one nurse hanging around a bit before departing. The nurse broke away from the rest and headed to the bottom of the building to go and get her other uniform and leave for the day.

One ordeal had ended. Now a entire new one appeared, one that required far more attention and care…


	26. Days After

Nina loved the lighthouse greatly. In particular, she loved one spot. Underneath a window where the sun would shine strong. Shantae moved her crib over to the window and that kept Nina from crying every single time something happened.

As expected, Nina would cry all the time. It didn't matter if the air shifted in a different direction, if Shantae opened the door to the fridge…Nina would bawl her little eyes out and wouldn't stop until Shantae did…something. It changed pretty much every single time. Sometimes it could be a song, a little dance, rocking her back and forth, food or drink, playing with a toy, telling her a story, (Despite her being a few-days old baby with no comprehension of any sort of language) making silly faces, jiggling keys, a gentle pat on the head…that one time that flashing did the trick…

"Makes sense." Rottytops chirped upon learning about that little encounter. "She has two mammas after all."

Shantae received a crash course in baby-raising from the various ladies in town; the advice came in two forms: the good kind from actual moms, and the bad kind from all of teenage girls and socialites that assumed they were right all the time. And it's not like she went and asked the latter two, they came up to her and told her the drivel they had to share.

Diaper changing wasn't as big of a issue as Shantae thought it would be. Sure, smelled bad and Nina would bawl her eyes out the entire time, but like a papercut, it would be over before she knew it.

Bottles on the other hand…

"Too warm." Shantae muttered after spraying a bit onto her wrist. She opened the bottle and looked inside. "Too many bubbles." She dumped the contents back into the pot from which she previously warmed it in, moving the pot off the stove and onto the counter…when a uncomfortable sound of sizzling metal meeting wooden counter filled the air.

"Too cold." Shantae shivered. She opened the bottle up and looked inside. There were icecubes? How? She didn't put in the freezer, it's not winter-time…how? How?

"And just right." Shantae sighed as the milk felt to be the right temperature. She went over to Nina and brought it up to her lips, allowing her to suckle…and then Nina spat out the milk. "What." Shantae groaned. "Don't tell me you like hot milk? Or is it cold? Which is it?"

Shantae still hadn't allowed any of her friends to babysit Nina. They had seen her, but Shantae wanted to stay with her baby for a long time. At least until she felt comfortable letting other people, even ones she trusted with her own life, take care of her.

That, and Shantae recalled a time where Rottytops babysitted a kid in town…and the kid wound up gaining a addiction to caffeine.

"I'm surprised you haven't been banished from the village." Sky shook her head as she lead Rottytops out of the lighthouse.

"Oh please, you'll miss me." Rottytops blew a quick raspberry.

"Maybe if crime goes down and there's nothing going on…"

In the end, it was mostly Shantae and Nina. And any doubts about hating Nina had died off faster than those plants Shantae received at the hospital.

Shantae would often find herself sleeping in the chair next to Nina's crib. She couldn't take her eyes off her beloved baby girl…and how much she look past the fact that Nina's existence is to keep a evil at bay…or rather, keep it from landing her fleet in the bay to invade. Nina looked pretty innocent despite being a spawn of a great evil.

"Eight years, huh?" Shantae muttered under her breath, looking at her daughter. "Best make them count, huh?" She gave a quick pat to Nina before leaning back to relax, therefore leading into slumber. As she went to sleep, she could hear the slight noise of Nina giggling…


	27. A Little Warmup

Breast feeding was something Shantae got used to real quick. She thought it would be a big issue, something she would never get used to, or having to clean up every time she did it.

But Nina kept it clean. She just continued to suck away at breast without too much dripping. Shantae gradually got used to Nina demanding for a sip…

…but not so much when Rottytops asked for some.

"I really don't need a audience." Shantae kindly remarked as she stared at Rottytops, who started the stare game.

"I want to know what it tastes like." Rottytops asked with a lick to dead and dry lips.

"It's milk." Shantae clicked her tongue as she turned away from her zombie friend to get Nina. Making sure to peek around the corner of her eyes that a certain zombie wasn't watching, Shantae lowered her top on the right side and cuddled Nina up to it. Nina's lips latched on and started to suck away. As Shantae relaxed, she failed to notice a new shadow.

"Please?"

"No!" Shantae squeaked out as she jumped back from Rottytops. "Are you a baby?"

"I can attach my head to a dead baby's body…"

"Oh good god!" Shantae exasperated. "How depraved are you?"

"A little bit." Rottytops admitted with a sly grin. "You could just squeeze a glass for me…"

"Not after that the whole 'dead baby' thing!"

"What's this about dead babies?" Sky walked in or rather burst into the lighthouse, her eyes wide in terror.

"Nothing!" Shantae groaned as she turned away in a huff, putting Nina down as she had enough milk for one day. "Yes, hi, welcome, come on in…" She put Nina down before turning back to greet Sky in a tired manner. Shantae took a second to recompose herself. "Is there something you need, Sky?"

"Yes, for you to put your top back up." Sky admitted. Shantae went beet-red in a second as it finally dawned her that fabric isn't touching her breasts.

"Wait, before you do that…" Rottytops clapped and rubbed her hands together.

"No, the answer is still no."

Shantae groaned as she spun around so she could pull her top back up. She noticed how tight her top started to feel in the chest area. It seems that her breasts have grew a bit bigger from having Nina. In fact, her top started to reveal a bit of underboob…

"Right." Sky cleared her throat, trying to hide a little bit of a blush. "Anyway, Shantae, now that you had your baby and you are used to having her around…" Sky looked around the lighthouse, easily noticing all of the baby stuff strewn about the place: her crib, her various toys, her blanket, several boxes of diapers, and at least two bottles. "You should take a break and let yourself relax. I can babysit for bit."

"Thanks." Shantae breathed out a easy sigh. "But I still don't know when I'll be ready to entrust Nina in someone else's protection."

"I dunno…" Rottytops smacked her lips. "Nina likes me." Both Shantae and Sky turned to see Rottytops holding up Nina and making silly faces…at least as silly as her dead-face could stretch. But Nina liked it regardless, going by the giggles she drooled out.

"Give me that!" Shantae lowly growled as she snatched her baby away from the zombie. "Not after that last comment."

"Can I apologize and we all forget about what I said?" Rottytops put on a huge Cheshire-cat smile and shrugged her shoulders, acting like the funny guy on a generic sitcom.

"Just leave." Shantae pointed to the door, treating Rottytops like the character she was currently acting like. Rottytops stuck her tongue out and did a cartwheel outside…after first collecting herself off the floor following her attempt to open a closed door with a cartwheel.

"You, I do trust." Shantae admitted as she turned towards Sky. "But, please, for now, let me be with Nina. Once I feel comfortable enough, you can babysit Nina."

Sky nodded. "There is something you should know. Something important." Sky cleared her throat before continuing. "The monsters outside of town have been getting a lot more dangerous, not to mention that their numbers have been getting bigger. Scuttle Town might get overrun if we don't do something soon."

"Yeah, I could use a little bit of exercise!" Shantae breathed out as she did some simple stretches for her arms, having just thought about it. "You think you can handle things until I feel up to it?"

"I have been doing that for nearly a year now." Sky clapped her hands together. "I can think I can do the full year."

"I couldn't ask for a better friend." Shantae let out a satisfied sigh before opening her arms outward. Sky stepped forward and hugged Shantae in a firm hug. After doing a little spin and holding the hug for a little while, the two had to part farewell for now.

So Shantae was alone again. She felt so used to it, she hoped she never got used to it. Shantae went over to Nina to check up on her. Nina cooed at her mom as she got picked up. At least being touched by a zombie didn't seem to affect her in a ill manner.

Thinking about getting back into combat again made Shantae feel a bit weak in her limbs. Carrying a baby for months on end and lounging around didn't do wonders for her muscles. Doing a little bit of hop in her home, she couldn't make the same great leap she once did, and it hurt a little to bounce up.

Her hair is still fine, so she could still whip a few scarecrows and hopefully herself into shape. Perhaps she could take up jogging? Get a membership at the gym? Cut down on sweets?

…maybe don't go that far.

Shantae sat down in her usual chair next to Nina's crib. She had found that spot, the one that hung at the right angle from the nearest window to create a good mixture of shadows and beams of light, to be a good spot to stop and think. It felt a bit weird, she used to be the sort to jump up and race out onwards to adventure, but now she had a child…she would need to actually use her brain now!

Well, at least more than usual.

"Hey, Nina." Nina looked over to her mom. "You wouldn't mind it too much if Auntie Sky comes and looks after you for a little bit, would you?" Nina slurped a little spittle. "I'll take that as a yes."

Tomorrow, Shantae would ask Sky to babysit. Tonight, Shantae would go to bed, feeling a bit uneasy…


	28. Don't Sit On The Baby

Sky expected the lighthouse to look exactly what she expected when she came in to babysit. Full of everything one would ever need for babies and then some more…and then some more…and then some more…and then there's enough for about an entire daycare center…make that three daycare centers…

"Is this all necessary?" Sky asked the most obvious question.

"Yes." Shantae nodded with a big smile. "Just in case!"

"Where do you sleep?" Sky asked another question as she scanned the area to try and find Shantae's bed buried in-between somewhere in some pile of diapers, blankets, bibs, the various amounts of various baby foods, toys…

"In my bed!" Shantae giggled as she pointed the fort made out of pillows and blankets. Hopefully she meant her actual bed is behind the fort. Actually, that would be pretty rocking place to sleep. "Where else? The floor?" Sky opted to not answer said question as that was honestly what she thought. "I'll only be gone for a few hours, so this should be enough to last you that long."

A bemused Sky replied with, "Thanks!" She didn't think she would need to use all of this stuff, so she put on a confidant smile.

"Right, if you need to contact me, just send out Wrench and I'll run on back!" Shantae waved as she walked towards the door. "Just make sure Nina is fed, change her, and keep her entertained!" She opened the door and promptly walked out, leaving Nina in the hands of Sky.

And Sky immediately started to panic in her head. She walked in here with great amount of confidence, but that immediately faded once Shantae walked out. Now she had responsibilities to both Shantae and Nina…and by extension Risky Boots. Not a comforting thing to think about. Sky needed to take this with the upmost seriousness. Any amount of lax would end in complete disaster.

…so, what first?

"You've been fed?" Sky asked to Nina, honestly expecting a answer from the baby. Not the best first step. But it seems, going by the orange specks around her lips, she had been fed. And going the upward curve shape of the lips, she looked pretty content. No need to jiggle any keys for now. And with Nina's crib being one of the few things that's out in the open in the middle of the baby supply warehouse, Sky gently let her down and pulled up the only adult-sized chair in the place.

Before she pulled out her book to read the hours away, Sky had a sudden thought. Rottytops might appear and try to become a babysitter as well. And given her track record, Rottytops might try to make things worse. So…Sky needed to keep Rottytops out of the lighthouse, preferably AWAY from the lighthouse.

Sky looked around and noticed all of the baby stuff. All of it nice and smooth, with rounded edges to make sure that no baby or deluded babysitter would cut themselves. Bet they were safe to eat and swallow too. Throwing them would probably do more damage to the thrower than to the target, those things would hurt the wrist!

But her eyes darted to a spare and cheap blanket. It looked a bit frayed already, but the threads looked decent enough…

Rottytops rolled her arms around (A very easy feat to do given that most of the muscles and skin were incredibly thin) as she approached the lighthouse. She had seen Shantae in town and realized it would be a good time for her to hang out Sky…and Nina. But mostly Sky. And maybe she'll play with the baby. If she had time when she's not seducing Sky.

Rottytops scuttled around the side of the lighthouse to peer into a window to try and see what Sky is doing. Not as a creep, but a way to gather information and see what would be the best way to surprise Sky. And by the looks of it, she's playing with Nina. Spooking her is out of the question, so a nice and easy approach will be ideal.

And with that, Rottytops threw open the door and walked in with a smile and a wave: "Hi there!"

Sky tugged on the rope made out of blanket fiber next to her. The snare that Rottytops stepped into tightened up and dragged the zombie girl up. This would have had defeated Rottytops, if not for the fact her leg disconnected and dropped Rottytops to the floor with a massive and meaty thud.

"Sorry." Sky coughed out as she took her time walking over to the crawling Rottytops. "That's all I could with all of this stuff."

"Oh?" Rottytops groaned. "Why not make a slingshot made out of a blanket? Or a giant rolling boulder made out of diapers?"

"I didn't have time." Sky clicked her tongue as she reached up and pulled the leg out of the snare. "Take your leg and beat a hasty retreat." She tossed the leg at Rottytops.

"I need something to attach it back while it heals." Rottytops moaned as she pointed to the flat stub of a leg. "Tape, glue, love, rope…"

"Pardon?"

"Rope."

"Fine." Sky groaned as she bent down and picked up Rottytops…unintentionally in the bridal style…and carried her to a chair to lay her down while Sky went to unassembled her trap to use to reattach for Rottytops' leg. "But after this, you're leaving. Immediately. And not coming back."

"That's a interesting way to hold someone." Rottytops commented on.

"It's the easiest way to carry someone." Sky replied honestly as she returned with the rope. Rottytops held her detached leg next to the stub as Sky wrapped the rope around and tied it down tight. "There. You can walk?" Rottytops nodded as she stood up on her two legs…but her reattached leg served more like a peg leg, she tried to put too much weight on it and fell forward and Sky was forced to catch her. "Make the obvious pun and I'll throw you into the sea."

"Hey, you thought of it first." Rottytops pointed double finger guns right at Sky…only to holster them when Sky's glare became razor-thin. "Gotcha." Rottytops broke free of Sky and hobbled away towards the door. "I'll be taking my leave now." She waved towards Sky with a full smile. "So, if you need me…" Rottytops couldn't believe it, but Sky's glare somehow got even more narrower. "Okay."

"I would like you a bit more if you weren't so unreliable, Rottytops." Sky sighed as she went over to check on Nina. The little baby didn't seem to mind the whole zombie-losing-a-leg-thing and giggled like nothing happened. "…really, does anyone trust you?"

For once, Rottytops went silent. She had to think about that. And just like that, she left without another word or even a 'goodbye'. Sky only had to shake her head and get back to work.

Rottytops walked the long path home, considering pretty much everything she could. It seemed that her infatuation with Sky isn't just some sexual fantasy now, she seemed to actually be interested in her. But Sky had standards, and Rottytops…had no such thing.

Looks like it's time to get some standards. Get some less raggedy clothing, remove most of the maggots and other insects out of her, clean her hair of all of the dried blood and mud, learn some table manners, learn something about birds…the usual stuff that people in love do, right?

Rottytops had her goal in her mind. Now, she needed to get started…namely, where is she going to get the money to afford better clothing and all of that bodycare stuff…


End file.
